Gunman was a high-stakes gambler who 'kept to himself' before massacre
Before he opened fire late Sunday (Oct 1), killing at least 58 people at a country music festival on the Las Vegas Strip, gunman Stephen Paddock was living out his retirement as a high-stakes gambler in a quiet town outside Las Vegas.
Paddock, 64, would disappear for days at a time, frequenting casinos with his longtime girlfriend, neighbours said. Relatives also said Paddock had frequently visited Las Vegas to gamble and take in concerts.
Eric Paddock said his brother often gambled in tens of thousands of dollars.
'I thought the gun shots were fireworks': Singaporean in Las Vegas where gunman killed at least 58
When the sound of the first gunshots rang above his head, Singaporean Marcus Seng, 30, thought it was the sound of fireworks or a private helicopter taking off.
"I knew the sound came from somewhere above me, not at the ground level, and it was quite loud, as I could hear it clearly despite having my motorcycle helmet on," said Mr Seng, who was on his motorbike on the Las Vegas strip on Sunday night (Oct 1).
"I thought it was fireworks or something," he told The Straits Times.
Jason Aldean, Ariana Grande, others react to massacre: 'We need gun control RIGHT. NOW.'
Words of sympathy and calls for gun control began to pour in Monday (Oct 3) from musicians who had performed over the weekend at the Las Vegas festival where a shooting killed at least 58 people.
The attack happened late on Sunday (Oct 2), on the last night of the Route 91 Harvest Festival, a three-day country music event. Online video showed singer Jason Aldean, who was listed as the festival's final act, performing as the shooting began.
Early Monday, Aldean posted a photo of the words "Pray for Las Vegas" over the city's skyline. The attack "hurts my heart," he wrote.
UN finds 'unimaginable' suffering in Myanmar's Rakhine on visit
The scale of the suffering inside Myanmar's Rakhine state is "unimaginable", the United Nations said Monday (Oct 3), after three of its members joined a belated government-steered visit for aid agencies and diplomats to the conflict-battered region.
Myanmar has tightly controlled access to the state since last month when attacks by Rohingya militants prompted an army kickback that sent 500,000 of the Muslim minority fleeing to Bangladesh.
Scores of Rohingya villages have been torched.
US rocker Tom Petty reported 'still clinging to life' after reports that he had died
US rocker Tom Petty was reported on Monday (Oct 2) to be clinging to life in a southern California hospital after conflicting reports that he had died. CBS News, citing Los Angeles Police Department, had earlier reported that Petty, 66, had died.
The LAPD later said on Twitter that it has "no information about the passing of singer Tom Petty. Initial information was inadvertently provided to some media sources."
Celebrity website TMZ.com, citing unidentified sources, reported later that Petty was not expected to live much longer but was "still clinging to life."
