https://www.scmp.com/rss/325392/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com The United States experienced 61 “active shooter” incidents last year, up sharply in the sheer number of attacks, casualties and geographic distribution from 2021 and the highest tally in over 20 years, according to the FBI. The 2021 total, spread over 30 states, was 52 per cent higher than 2020 and about double each of the three previous years, according to the FBI. The agency defines an active shooter as someone engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a public space in seemingly... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3178883/2021-saw-most-us-shootings-20-years-fbi-says?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3178883/2021-saw-most-us-shootings-20-years-fbi-says?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 May 2022 02:24:25 +0000 Congressional Democratic leaders warned President Donald Trump on Sunday that any proposal on gun control must include a House-passed bill to expand background checks for gun purchases – or else risk no legislation at all. In a joint statement, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said they spoke Sunday morning with Trump, who planned to announce as soon as this week what measures he supported. Pelosi and Schumer said they made clear that any proposal lacking... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3027369/us-gun-control-laws-must-include-background-checks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3027369/us-gun-control-laws-must-include-background-checks?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 15 Sep 2019 22:01:41 +0000 At one point in the early 2000s, when I was at university in the United States, I returned to New Zealand for a visit. I grew up there after my family emigrated from Taiwan in 1994. One evening, I went to a bar with a high school friend. There I spotted a skinhead: white, young, with a shaven head, in a Swastika T-shirt. I asked to leave. Just out of the door, I felt a hand touch the back of my head. I swung around and swatted away the neo-Nazi’s arm before taking a good look at what was going... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3002037/christchurch-shooting-racism-new-zealand-isnt-new-and-era-donald?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3002037/christchurch-shooting-racism-new-zealand-isnt-new-and-era-donald?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 17 Mar 2019 08:15:10 +0000 The Trump administration moved on Tuesday to officially ban bump stocks, which allow semi-automatic weapons to fire rapidly like automatic firearms, and has made them illegal to possess beginning in late March. The devices will be banned under a federal law that prohibits machine guns, according to a senior Justice Department official. Bump stocks became a focal point of the national gun control debate after they were used in October 2017 when a man opened fired from his Las Vegas hotel suite... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2178612/donald-trumps-administration-banning-bump-stock?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2178612/donald-trumps-administration-banning-bump-stock?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 18 Dec 2018 18:09:33 +0000 A small bouquet of dried flowers is wedged inside the padlock on Gate 5 of the killing ground that was the Route 91 Harvest Festival one recent day, and it was the only visible reminder that it was the site of the worst mass shooting in modern American history. A peek inside the chain-link fence, covered in green sheeting to keep out prying eyes, revealed a sprawling patch of asphalt and little else. Towering above were the gold windows of the Mandalay Bay, where a gambler spent the last minutes... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2166397/las-vegas-reflects-and-moves-forward-1-year-after?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2166397/las-vegas-reflects-and-moves-forward-1-year-after?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 30 Sep 2018 17:04:38 +0000 Hotel surveillance video from the days before the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history, made public Thursday, shows the gunman as an unremarkable Las Vegas hotel guest and casino patron. Footage provided by MGM Resorts International shows Stephen Paddock interacting with Mandalay Bay resort staff members, repeatedly wheeling suitcases toward elevators and pulling his Dodge Caravan into the hotel valet. It offers no outward sign that the bags contained an arsenal of weapons, that Paddock... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2138577/banality-evil-hotel-security-footage-shows-vegas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2138577/banality-evil-hotel-security-footage-shows-vegas?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Mar 2018 05:57:31 +0000 A US$31.5 million victims’ fund that started as a GoFundMe effort announced plans Friday to pay US$275,000 to the families of each of the 58 people killed in the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history. The Las Vegas Victims Fund said the maximum US$275,000 also will be paid to 10 other people who were paralysed or suffered permanent brain damage in the October 1 shooting on the Las Vegas Strip. The non-profit posted a chart projecting payments on a scale to a total of 532 people, including... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2135556/families-las-vegas-shooting-victims-receive-us275000?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2135556/families-las-vegas-shooting-victims-receive-us275000?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 03 Mar 2018 09:26:23 +0000 US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he has signed a memo directing the Justice Department to propose regulations to “ban all devices” like the rapid-fire bump stocks involved in last year’s Las Vegas massacre. Seeking to show action days after a deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida, Trump spoke during a White House ceremony recognising bravery by the nation’s public safety officers. “We must move past clichés and tired debates and focus on evidence-based solutions and security... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2134038/donald-trump-directs-justice-department-ban-bump?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2134038/donald-trump-directs-justice-department-ban-bump?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Feb 2018 22:16:58 +0000 There’s a Presidents’ Day sale on bump stocks, the device the Las Vegas shooter put on his rifles to effectively make them fire like a fully automatic machine gun, killing 58 people. Slide Fire Solutions, a bump stocks manufacturer, is offering 10 per cent discount with coupon code: MAGA. That’s a salute to the campaign slogan of President Donald Trump, who promised to “Make America Great Again”, and who has responded to the deadly massacres in the past five months by continuing to oppose any... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2133783/heres-freedom-maker-rapid-fire-device-used-las-vegas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2133783/heres-freedom-maker-rapid-fire-device-used-las-vegas?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 19 Feb 2018 04:45:17 +0000 A man suspected of selling armour-piercing bullets to the Las Vegas gunman who killed 58 people at a music festival was charged on Friday with conspiracy to manufacture and sell such ammunition without a licence. Douglas Haig, 55, of Mesa, Arizona, became the first person arrested and charged in connection with the October 1 massacre, which ranks as the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history. The gunman, Stephen Paddock, who strafed a crowd of concertgoers from his high-rise suite at the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2131867/man-charged-over-armour-piercing-bullet-sale-las?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2131867/man-charged-over-armour-piercing-bullet-sale-las?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 03 Feb 2018 09:33:02 +0000 Hotel staff at the Mandalay Bay hotel who interacted with Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock more than 10 times during his stay didn’t notice anything unusual, according to MGM Resorts International. Paddock checked in to the hotel three days before he apparently unleashed a torrent of bullets on a country music festival on October 1, killing 58 people from the window of his 32nd-floor suite before he is said to have fatally shot himself. The 64-year-old spoke to housekeeping on the phone and had... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2127146/vegas-hotel-staff-met-normal-gunman-more-10-times?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2127146/vegas-hotel-staff-met-normal-gunman-more-10-times?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 06 Jan 2018 14:56:15 +0000 Nearly a year into Donald Trump’s tenure, suggestions from his many critics that the US president is mentally unfit have endured. They are wrong. Trump isn’t stupid or mentally ill, and last week’s announcement that the US will recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital – a move that came under almost universal condemnation – underscores the lucidity of the Trump administration’s strategy. For Trump and his advisers, division and conflict are not just means to an end. They are the goals: his... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2123833/donald-trump-neither-stupid-nor-mad-and-his-jerusalem-move?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2123833/donald-trump-neither-stupid-nor-mad-and-his-jerusalem-move?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Dec 2017 14:04:40 +0000 A Canadian man who survived getting shot in the head during the massacre at a Las Vegas country music festival has been bombarded with death threats from online conspiracy theorists. Braden Matejka barely escaped the Route 91 Harvest festival with his life after Stephen Paddock fired a barrage of bullets from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino down on the outdoor concert below. The 64-year-old gunman killed 58 people and injured hundreds – Matejka among them. “You are a lying... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2117394/i-hope-someone-truly-shoots-you-las-vegas-shooting?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2117394/i-hope-someone-truly-shoots-you-las-vegas-shooting?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Oct 2017 02:57:55 +0000 The brother of the man behind the worst mass shooting in modern US history has been arrested on suspicion of having child pornography, police said on Wednesday. Bruce Paddock – one of Stephen Paddock’s three brothers – was arrested early Wednesday in Los Angeles, officer Norma Eisenman said. She said Paddock, 59, is facing child pornography charges in relation to a probe that began before the shooting in Las Vegas that left 58 people dead and hundreds wounded. Bruce Paddock reportedly had a... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2117013/brother-las-vegas-killer-stephen-paddock-arrested?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2117013/brother-las-vegas-killer-stephen-paddock-arrested?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Oct 2017 20:25:47 +0000 The US is closely divided on whether restricting firearms would reduce such mass shootings or murders, though a majority favour tighter laws as they have for several years, according to a new poll from Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research. The massive divide on stricter limits remains firmly in place. The survey was conducted from October 12-16, about two weeks after 64-year-old Stephen Paddock fired on a crowded musical festival across the road from his hotel room, killing... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2116371/las-vegas-shooting-hasnt-changed-americas-opinion?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2116371/las-vegas-shooting-hasnt-changed-americas-opinion?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 21 Oct 2017 03:00:56 +0000 The gunman who unleashed the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history first wounded an unsuspecting hotel security guard in a hallway who promptly radioed for help, according to a TV interview broadcast Wednesday with the guard and a hotel building engineer whose life he is credited with saving. In his only public recounting of the October 1 shooting that killed 58 people and wounded more than 500, guard Jesus Campos emerged from hiding to tell TV host Ellen DeGeneres on her talk show that... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2115988/las-vegas-hotel-guard-shot-massacre-gunman-breaks?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2115988/las-vegas-hotel-guard-shot-massacre-gunman-breaks?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Oct 2017 00:41:38 +0000 A gunman shot five of his colleagues at a Maryland workshop on Wednesday, killing three of them and setting off a manhunt, authorities said. The gunman, who was still on the loose, was linked to a later shooting at a used car dealership in Delaware about 90km away. At least one victim was targeted, authorities said, but the extent of their injuries was not released. Authorities said it was not clear why the man they identified as 37-year-old Radee Labeeb Prince arrived at work as scheduled and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2115978/three-killed-maryland-gunman-who-flees-another-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2115978/three-killed-maryland-gunman-who-flees-another-us?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 18 Oct 2017 18:45:30 +0000 The company that runs the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino has disputed the timeline offered by Las Vegas police for the October1 mass shooting at the hotel, suggesting Thursday that very little time had elapsed between when gunman Stephen Paddock shot a hotel security guard and when he started firing on a concert crowd outside. The police timeline indicates that six minutes elapsed after security guard Jesus Campos was shot outside Paddock’s hotel room door before Paddock fired his first shots at... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2115210/hotel-says-vegas-rampage-began-40-seconds-after?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2115210/hotel-says-vegas-rampage-began-40-seconds-after?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Oct 2017 05:30:45 +0000 The story starts in 1969 in Peshawar in Pakistan, where I was spending a year as a volunteer teacher in a school in the shadow of the Khyber Pass that led up into Afghanistan. My students were the normal rambunctious boys you would expect in almost any school worldwide. Except all of them were the sons of tribal leaders in territories stretching from Baluchistan in the south west, to Swat, Gilgit and Chitral in the north, bordering China. When the kids returned from the Christmas break, my class... https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2115179/theres-no-excuse-american-gun-culture?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/article/2115179/theres-no-excuse-american-gun-culture?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Oct 2017 02:35:00 +0000 The gunman who killed 58 people in the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history targeted aviation fuel tanks, stocked his car with explosives and had personal protection gear as part of an escape plan, authorities said. Sheriff Joe Lombardo again expressed frustration with the pace of the investigation, but not with the investigators who have yet to pinpoint the motive behind the gunman’s decision to fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel casino on a Las Vegas Strip concert crowd... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2114759/las-vegas-gunman-had-escape-plan-shot-airport-fuel?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2114759/las-vegas-gunman-had-escape-plan-shot-airport-fuel?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Oct 2017 10:45:15 +0000 What will become of the now-notorious Las Vegas hotel suite that a 64-year-old retiree used to stage the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history? That is the difficult decision facing the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino a week after Stephen Paddock opened fire on a crowd at an outdoor concert from room 135 on the hotel’s 32nd floor, killing 58 and injuring more than 500. The suite’s shattered gold-tinted windows are now discreetly covered over. The resort, owned by MGM Resorts International,... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2114678/what-do-room-32-135-dilemma-mandalay-bay-resort-wake?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2114678/what-do-room-32-135-dilemma-mandalay-bay-resort-wake?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 10 Oct 2017 06:00:30 +0000 Individual gun ownership is a right proffered under the ­second amendment to the US Constitution. In killing 58 people and injuring about 500 last week, the perpetrator of the Las Vegas mass shooting had at the ready about two dozen guns in his hotel room, and dozens elsewhere. The average citizen’s right to bear arms mirrors the way the US thinks about foreign relations – which will also lead to unnecessary tragedy. These days, neither near-absolute gun rights at home nor the reliance on... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2114516/cowboy-trump-leading-trigger-happy-america-should-world?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2114516/cowboy-trump-leading-trigger-happy-america-should-world?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Oct 2017 09:00:45 +0000 Matt Sessums was stopping at his local Walmart Supercentrer in Oxford, Mississippi, on Saturday afternoon when he did a double take. Outside both entrances of the store were tables set up to promote a raffle for a nearby church. The prizes? Two AR-15 semi-automatic rifles. Tickets were US$10 each or three for US$20. Manning the tables, Sessums said, were two adults and three children, who looked to be around the same age as his 10-year-old daughter. Note in Las Vegas gunman’s hotel room had... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2114523/us-church-criticised-raffling-ar-15-semi-automatic?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2114523/us-church-criticised-raffling-ar-15-semi-automatic?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Oct 2017 06:45:15 +0000 A note discovered in the hotel room of Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock featured hand-written calculations on where he needed to aim to increase his accuracy and number of kills, an investigator said. The piece of paper was found by police officers who stormed Paddock’s room after he launched his attack from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel Sunday night – killing 58 people and injuring nearly 500. In an interview set to air on Sunday, Officer David Newton of the Las Vegas Police... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2114408/note-found-las-vegas-gunmans-hotel-room-contained?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2114408/note-found-las-vegas-gunmans-hotel-room-contained?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Oct 2017 04:42:09 +0000 The recent tragic events in Las Vegas and spate of terrorist attacks in Europe will have all parents whose children study overseas pondering whether they made the right decision. After all, Hong Kong has many fine schools and universities. Since we live in, by any measure, one of the world’s safest cities, why send our precious children thousands of miles away, where they might be in danger and we will see them less often? The counter arguments are familiar to all families on this path: some... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2114242/after-vegas-massacre-and-european-terror-attacks-it-safe?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2114242/after-vegas-massacre-and-european-terror-attacks-it-safe?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 08 Oct 2017 04:01:47 +0000 Tourists coming to gamble and party on the Strip will soon find something other than bright lights welcoming them to “Fabulous Las Vegas”. Billboards will serve as a stark reminder that investigators remain stumped about what drove a gunman to mow down people from his casino hotel room last Sunday. Stephen Paddock, 64, unleashed a torrent of gunfire onto an outdoor music festival from the windows of his 32nd-floor suite, then apparently shot himself dead before police stormed his room. In... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2114371/police-ask-public-help-find-motive-las-vegas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2114371/police-ask-public-help-find-motive-las-vegas?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Oct 2017 12:14:20 +0000 I must be something of a good ol’ American at heart because of a schoolboyish little foible that I never really grew out of – playing with firearms. I enjoy a bit of target practice at shooting ranges when I visit a couple of countries where my friends in the military or police are willing to indulge me. But that’s all there is to that. I would never point a gun at another person or fight for the right to carry one, knowing how downright dangerous and destructive they are. You’ll understand when... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2114364/forget-terrorists-americans-are-their-own-worst-enemies?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2114364/forget-terrorists-americans-are-their-own-worst-enemies?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 07 Oct 2017 09:33:24 +0000 YouTube has made changes to its algorithms after it was strongly condemned for promoting offensive and false conspiracy theory videos about the Las Vegas shooting. The move to shift the way it delivers search results contradicts YouTube’s earlier statements defending its performance during breaking news. After a gunman inside the Mandalay Bay hotel fired on a music festival, killing 58 people and injuring hundreds more, videos claiming that the shooting was a hoax and a “false flag” spread like... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2114264/youtube-takes-action-against-offensive-conspiracy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2114264/youtube-takes-action-against-offensive-conspiracy?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Oct 2017 07:15:30 +0000 Las Vegas killer Stephen Paddock’s brother once threatened to kill a friend in California, court records show. Bruce Paddock was living without permission in a home in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley in 2014 when his friend Hector Cruz, the owner, accused him of tampering with machinery, the records filed in Los Angeles show. When Cruz confronted him, Bruce Paddock allegedly said: “If you keep (expletive) with me, I am going to kill you and drop you in the desert.” Vegas gunman’s ‘secret life’... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2114213/court-papers-say-brother-vegas-gunman-stephen?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2114213/court-papers-say-brother-vegas-gunman-stephen?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Oct 2017 02:30:57 +0000 The largest gun-lobbying group in the United States said devices that allow semi-automatic rifles to function like automatic firearms should be subject to new regulations after a growing number of Republican lawmakers said they are open to such restrictions. Following a mass shooting in Las Vegas on Sunday, in which the gunman had weapons modified to allow rapid firing, the National Rifle Association (NRA) called on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to review whether the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2114196/top-us-gun-group-favours-regulations-devices-upgrade?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2114196/top-us-gun-group-favours-regulations-devices-upgrade?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Oct 2017 20:00:00 +0000 Those seeking to know the motive of Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock have had little more to chase than hints and shadows. Paddock led such a low-key, private life that no one seemed to know him well and those who did had no sense he was capable of the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history. Where other mass killers have left behind a trail of clues that help investigators to quickly understand what drove them to violence, Paddock, 64, had nearly no close friends, no social media... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2114099/vegas-gunmans-secret-life-thwarts-investigators-they?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2114099/vegas-gunmans-secret-life-thwarts-investigators-they?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Oct 2017 06:15:15 +0000 For more than a year, the Georgia Gun Store in Gainesville, Georgia, had no requests for a “bump stock” – an accessory that effectively transforms a semi-automatic rifle into a machine gun capable of firing hundreds of rounds a minute. But following Sunday’s mass shooting in Las Vegas, the shop fielded several calls from customers asking about the product, apparently out of concern that lawmakers may outlaw it. The store’s owner, Kellie Weeks, said several distributors were out of stock when she... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2114056/keep-faith-love-your-product-after-vegas-massacre?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2114056/keep-faith-love-your-product-after-vegas-massacre?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 05 Oct 2017 01:15:45 +0000 Declaring it a “very, very sad day” for himself and the nation, US President Donald Trump travelled on Wednesday to the city where a gunman killed 59 people at a concert to meet survivors and law enforcement officials in the aftermath of the worst mass shooting in modern US history. Air Force One landed at the airport near the famed Las Vegas strip on a bright, sunny morning just days after a gunman on the 32nd floor of a hotel and casino opened fire on people at an outdoor country music... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2114041/trump-visits-las-vegas-days-after-worst-mass?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2114041/trump-visits-las-vegas-days-after-worst-mass?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Oct 2017 18:00:15 +0000 FBI agents questioned the girlfriend of the Las Vegas gunman on Wednesday hoping for more answers into what sparked the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history and possible glimpses into the planning that turned hotel rooms into an armed fortress. So far, however, few clues have emerged to help investigators understand 64-year-old Stephen Paddock and the evil he rained down on a Las Vegas concert – leaving at least 59 dead, including himself – and once again bringing calls for greater gun... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2114028/girlfriend-las-vegas-gunman-steven-paddock?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2114028/girlfriend-las-vegas-gunman-steven-paddock?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Oct 2017 13:45:30 +0000 The gunman who attacked a Las Vegas country music festival installed cameras outside his hotel room, including at least one in a room-service cart, to watch for the approach of police officers, Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said Tuesday. Officials still haven’t offered a motive for why Stephen Paddock, 64, of Mesquite, Nevada, opened fire at a concert across the street from the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino Sunday night. Fifty-nine people were killed and more than 500 injured in the... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2113978/meticulous-and-murderous-las-vegas-gunman-even?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2113978/meticulous-and-murderous-las-vegas-gunman-even?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Oct 2017 07:45:45 +0000 Eating mooncakes and making paper lanterns, sailors from the American supercarrier the USS Ronald Reagan celebrated the Mid-Autumn Festival with primary school pupils in Hong Kong on Wednesday. Twenty-five navy officers visited Po Kok Primary School in Happy Valley to give talks about their work and play games with pupils, on the second day of the vessel’s transit call in the city en route to South Korean waters for a joint naval drill. On the day of a Chinese festival that signifies family... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/2113962/sailors-eat-mooncakes-schoolchildren-us-supercarrier?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/2113962/sailors-eat-mooncakes-schoolchildren-us-supercarrier?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Oct 2017 07:00:00 +0000 The girlfriend of the Las Vegas attacker said on Wednesday she had no clue her partner was planning the carnage that left nearly 60 people dead. “I knew Stephen Paddock as a kind, caring, quiet man,” Marilou Danley said in a statement read by her lawyer Matthew Lombard. “I loved him and hoped for a quiet future together with him. “He never said anything to me or took any action that I was aware of that I understood in any way to be a warning that something horrible like this was going to... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2113932/las-vegas-gunmans-girlfriend-marilou-danley?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2113932/las-vegas-gunmans-girlfriend-marilou-danley?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Oct 2017 04:15:30 +0000 Through tears and in heart-wrenching tributes, relatives and friends are remembering the dozens of people killed in the shooting massacre on the Las Vegas strip. One of them was Neysa Tonks, a 46-year old mother of three who lived and worked in Las Vegas. Tonks was a big fan of country music singer Jason Aldean, and she attended Sunday’s music festival with her boyfriend. Her brother, Cody Davis, confirmed that Tonks was killed in the gunfire during Aldean’s set. Her boyfriend was injured and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2113931/watch-familys-tribute-mother-three-killed-las-vegas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2113931/watch-familys-tribute-mother-three-killed-las-vegas?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Oct 2017 04:15:00 +0000 Jackie Chan wishes he could have used his martial arts skills to help those hurt in Sunday’s mass shooting in Las Vegas. “A lot of young kids say ‘Jackie, you’re a superhero. You’re hero.’ I really want to be a superhero [so] I can fly around the world, save the people, beat up the bad people, put them in the jail. But sometimes I watch this [and] I’m just useless,” Chan says. “[The] only thing I can do is pray for them.” Jackie Chan on his plans to make action movies into his 70s, as well as... https://www.scmp.com/culture/film-tv/article/2113920/las-vegas-shooting-jackie-chan-feels-useless-wake-mass-attack?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/culture/film-tv/article/2113920/las-vegas-shooting-jackie-chan-feels-useless-wake-mass-attack?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Oct 2017 04:00:15 +0000 Shares in casino giant MGM China struggled to remain in positive territory on Wednesday in Hong Kong, as investor sentiment was affected by the deadliest shooting massacre in modern US history at a Las Vegas hotel, which is owned by the company’s parent, MGM Resorts International. Other casino shares advanced in Hong Kong, as traders expected China’s so called ‘golden week’ holiday to bring more visitors to the gambling hub. The mass shooting left at least 59 people dead, and more than 500... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2113905/mgm-china-wynn-macau-stocks-rebound-after-las-vegas-massacre?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2113905/mgm-china-wynn-macau-stocks-rebound-after-las-vegas-massacre?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 04 Oct 2017 02:30:45 +0000 The description has been used again and again: the worst mass shooting in recent US history. This time it was in Las Vegas, the victims were at a country music concert and the attacker was a wealthy white man firing from a suite on the 32nd floor of a nearby hotel. President Donald Trump and other officials have given their condolences and spoken of their sadness and the debate on gun control has been rekindled. But the cycle after such tragedies is depressingly familiar and, more than likely,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2113885/us-leaders-must-show-will-after-latest-massacre?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2113885/us-leaders-must-show-will-after-latest-massacre?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Oct 2017 19:34:03 +0000 Baron Rothschild, the 18th century British nobleman and patriarch of the famous banking family, is credited with saying that “the time to buy is when there’s blood in the streets”. It’s a sad commentary on the United States that investors took his saying to heart so literally yesterday. Two of America’s biggest gun stocks shot up after the massacre in Las Vegas: Sturm Ruger and Company went up by 3.48 per cent, and American Outdoor Brands, better known as Smith&Wesson, by 3.21 per cent. Photos... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2113884/rothschild-proved-right-again-after-las-vegas-massacre?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/2113884/rothschild-proved-right-again-after-las-vegas-massacre?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Oct 2017 18:25:37 +0000 The motivation for the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history remained a mystery yesterday as investigators began to piece together a profile of the Las Vegas gunman who killed 59 people and wounded more than 500. Stephen Paddock, 64, was a “demented” and “very, very sick individual”, US President Donald Trump said, as investigators uncovered evidence suggesting he might have been planning something even worse. The retired accountant, a multimillionaire, hauled more than 10 suitcases... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2113876/trump-calls-las-vegas-gunman-very-sick-and-demented?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2113876/trump-calls-las-vegas-gunman-very-sick-and-demented?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Oct 2017 14:45:00 +0000 A Hollywood actor who was raised in Hong Kong has recounted the “eeriness” of Las Vegas the morning after Sunday’s mass shooting – and his “luck” for not venturing out that night. Australian-born Gil Darnell was staying at the Luxor Hotel directly opposite the site of the deadliest mass shooting in US history. The hotel is next to the Mandalay Bay Hotel where 64-year-old retired accountant Stephen Paddock set up a sniper’s nest to pour gunfire onto the concert below, slaying 59 people and... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2113860/hong-kong-raised-actor-gil-darnell-recounts-eeriness?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2113860/hong-kong-raised-actor-gil-darnell-recounts-eeriness?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Oct 2017 11:15:30 +0000 Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock’s “regular companion” was an Australian woman who moved to the US 20 years ago to work on the casino strip, the government said on Tuesday. Marilou Danley, 62, was initially said to be a “person of interest” but has since been cleared of any involvement in the shocking shooting that left 59 dead and more than 500 injured. American authorities said she was out of the country at the time retired accountant Paddock, 64, unleashed his reign of terror on concertgoers... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2113824/vegas-shooters-companion-was-australian-granny?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2113824/vegas-shooters-companion-was-australian-granny?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Oct 2017 08:30:45 +0000 The deadly attack on concertgoers in Las Vegas has prompted a debate about security measures at hotels and open-air venues, but little could have been done to prevent Sunday’s carnage, experts say. The challenges lie in part in the difficulty of imposing harsh policies on places and events meant for fun and relaxation, and foiling a perpetrator bent on bloodshed. “This was an unpreventable incident, period,” said Patrick Brosnan, a former NYPD detective who now runs a private security firm... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2113802/las-vegas-concert-carnage-left-59-dead-was?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2113802/las-vegas-concert-carnage-left-59-dead-was?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Oct 2017 06:45:00 +0000 They came from Alaska and Tennessee, California and West Virginia, commercial fishermen, police officers, teachers, retirees – drawn together only by a love of country music. When the shooting stopped, 59 of those distant lives would end in the latest massacre to take the grim title of “the worst mass shooting in modern American history.” Here are some of the victims: CHARLESTON HARTFIELD Charleston Hartfield, 34, was the off-duty Las Vegas police officer among those killed, the Las Vegas... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2113780/policeman-nurse-fisherman-single-mother-among-dead?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2113780/policeman-nurse-fisherman-single-mother-among-dead?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Oct 2017 04:25:53 +0000 Hong Kong pop singer Leo Ku Kui-kei and his wife have described their experience of being in Las Vegas during the worst mass shooting in recent US history, with a death toll of at least 59 and more than 500 injured. The couple and their friends hid under a gambling table in the Bellagio hotel when the sound of gunfire from the Mandalay Bay Resort, which is 2.6km away, broke out. The equivalent distance in Hong Kong is from the Central Harbourfront to Victoria Park. The Bellagio crowd panicked... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/community/article/2113766/i-was-holding-my-wife-under-table-hong-kong-singer-leo-ku?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/community/article/2113766/i-was-holding-my-wife-under-table-hong-kong-singer-leo-ku?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Oct 2017 03:30:30 +0000 A day after 59 people were killed and more than 500 wounded at a mass shooting at a Las Vegas concert, police said they had recovered an arsenal of at least 42 weapons stashed in the gunman’s car, house and hotel room. The sound of gunfire captured on videos recorded during the massacre indicates that Stephen Paddock used at least one automatic machine gun, a type of firearm that is highly regulated in the United States though a fairly common find at gun shows and firing ranges, including one... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2113747/vegas-shooter-had-16-firearms-hotel-room-including?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2113747/vegas-shooter-had-16-firearms-hotel-room-including?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 03 Oct 2017 00:45:45 +0000 A registered nurse from Tennessee who died shielding his wife, a doctor, from gunfire. The only son of a Canadian couple who is now left childless. A popular secretary at a New Mexico High School. All were among the at least 59 people killed in the mass shooting at a country music festival in Las Vegas. Details began to emerge Monday about some of those slain and the hundreds more who were injured after a gunman opened fire on festivalgoers. Retired accountant turned gunman: who is the Las Vegas... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2113739/first-victim-las-vegas-identified-family?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2113739/first-victim-las-vegas-identified-family?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Oct 2017 18:44:08 +0000