Tag: Las Vegas

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Ellen Interviews Las Vegas Security Guard: “I’m Doing Better Each Day”

Stephen Schuck, Jesus Campos and Ellen DeGeneres

Las Vegas security guard Jesus Campos, who first discovered the Las Vegas shooter who killed 58 and wounded hundreds in the deadliest shooting massacre in the United States, appeared on ELLEN today to share his story.

Via Billboard:

The appearance came just days after widely circulated reports that Campos — who was shot in the leg by one of the approximately 200 bullets Paddock fired through his hotel room door several minutes before he began his Oct. 1 assault on the 22,000 fans below — had disappeared.

“I’m doing better each day, slowly but sure, just healing physically and mentally,” said Campos. The soft-spoken security guard explained that he was called to check on Paddock’s room because of a security notification about the shooter’s door being left open for an extended period.

Coming up from the 31st floor to the 32nd, Campos said he was unable to open the door on the stairwell, which was blocked off, a situation that raised an alarm for him. After walking around a different way, Campos said he approached the room and saw a metal bracket holding the door to the blocked stairwell in place. After calling maintenance to check it out, Campos heard what he thought were “drilling” sounds shortly after, which turned out to be gunshots fired by Paddock.

As Campos walked back down the hallway away from Paddock’s room, he told DeGeneres that he heard the outer door slam, which he said caught Paddock’s attention. “As I was walking down I heard rapid fire and at first I took cover, I felt a burning sensation,” he said. “I went to go lift my pant leg up and I saw the blood. That’s when I called it in on my radio that shots had been fired.”

Campos was going to report that he was hit, but thinking fast, he used his cell phone to do so in order to keep the radio channel free. According to the revised timeline of the shooting, Campos — who was joined and comforted during the interview by Mandalay Bay building engineer Stephen Schuck — was shot in the leg nearly six minutes before Paddock began firing from his hotel room window.

Watch the interview below.

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SNL: Pitch Perfect Cold Open Addresses Las Vegas Massacre

Bringing together separate but important events into one crystallized moment has become a hallmark of Saturday Night Live.

When the right balance of respect, reflection, and inspiration come together at the perfect time.

You’ll recall the first show after the presidential election last year when Kate McKinnon, as “Hillary Clinton,” handled the cold open duties with a sobering “Hallelujah” originally penned by Leonard Cohen who had passed away that week. The lyrics, the mood, the moment reflected much of the country’s emotional state.

This happened again last night as Jason Aldean, the country star who was onstage the moment gunshots ripped through the night sky in Las Vegas last Sunday, took the opening spot to address the deadliest mass shooting in the history of the United States.

“This week, we witnessed one of the worst tragedies in American history. Like everyone, I’m struggling to understand what happened that night and how to pick up the pieces and start to heal. So many people are hurting. There are children, parents, brothers, sisters, friends. They’re all part of our family. So I want to say to them, we hurt for you and we hurt with you. But you can be sure that we’re going to walk through these tough times together, every step of the way. Because when America is at its best, our bond and our spirit — it’s unbreakable.”

Aldean then ripped into a cover of “I Won’t Back Down,” the defiant rock anthem by Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Tom Petty, who passed away earlier this week at the age of 66 after suffering a heart attack.

Watch below.

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Investigators Exploring Whether Others Were In Las Vegas Shooter’s Hotel Room

While investigators continue to search for a motive for the Las Vegas shooting massacre that left 58 dead and over 500 wounded, they are also now exploring if another person had been in shooter Stephen Paddock’s room at the Mandalay Bay Hotel.

From NBC News:

Investigators are trying to nail down whether anyone else was in the hotel suite reserved by the Las Vegas gunman during the time he was registered there, multiple senior law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation into the shooting told NBC News.

The investigators are puzzled by two discoveries: First, a charger was found that does not match any of the cell phones that belonged to Stephen Paddock, the man who killed himself inside the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino after sending a barrage of bullets down on a crowd of 22,000 people below.

And second, garage records show that during a period when Paddock’s car left the hotel garage, one of his key cards was used to get into his room.

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Las Vegas Celebrates National Coming Out Weekend

From Come Out Vegas:

Gay Vegas and the First Friday Foundation are extremely saddened by the recent events and our hearts and thoughts go out to the victims and loved ones of this senseless violence in our community.

Each year in October, for First Friday’s anniversary event, we celebrate the theme of ‘One World Through Art’ to promote the idea of peace, love, and unity. Creativity is the common thread that defines us as human, and art brings us together in ways nothing else can. It is by coming together and gathering in large groups that our message of love and our power to affect change are amplified.

Gay Vegas & Come Out Vegas partner with First Friday to create an LGBTQ inclusive and empowering environment to honor the principles behind National Coming Out Day and Nevada’s anniversary of marriage equality.

The resounding message we’re hearing from our community of creators and caring human beings is that we will not live in fear. We can’t let the actions of one, or a few, overpower the desire and need for the many to come together. This Friday, October 6th, will be the 15th anniversary of First Fridays and the will hold the regularly scheduled LGBTQ highlighted event as planned.

On Saturday, October 7th Gay Vegas will be holding their Rainbow Festival in The Loop area as part of Come Out Vegas. We’re working with law enforcement and local authorities to increase security measures and help ensure public safety, we will take all the precautions we can, and we are asking the community to help look out for and care for each other.

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If You Would Like To Help The Victims Of The Las Vegas Shooting

It’s very rare that I reach out and ask readers to consider donating to this or that charity or fund raiser.

But this recent shooting massacre in Las Vegas, my hometown, literally hits home.

I mentioned in another post, but for those who might be inclined to donate to help those affected by the hideous attack by Stephen Paddock on Sunday night, please consider this GoFundMe campaign.

The campaign has raised, at this writing, $3.7 million with a current goal of $4.5 million.

The money will go directly to help victims and victims families regarding hospital bills, funeral bills, flying in family members to take care of loved ones and more.

There were almost 600 people killed or injured, so even with $4.5 million divided by 600, that’s only $7,500 per victim to cope with hospital bills, travel costs for families and funeral costs.

Thank you for reading and considering anything to help folks here in my city.

#VegasStrong #Forward

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Jimmy Kimmel Gives Tearful Appeal For Common Sense Gun Legislation After Deadly Las Vegas Massacre

Jimmy Kimmel was overcome with emotion last night as he addressed the horrific shooting in Las Vegas, his own hometown, which saw 59 people killed and 527 injured while attending a country music concert.

Choked up from the beginning and eventually breaking into tears, his opening monologue became a searing condemnation of the country’s leaders who have done nothing in the aftermath of mass shootings over the years.

“There are a lot of things we can do about it. But we don’t, which is interesting. Because when someone with a beard attacks us, we tap phones, we invoke travel bans, we build walls, we take every possible precaution to make sure it doesn’t happen again. But when an American buys a gun and kills other Americans, then there’s nothing we can do about that. And the Second Amendment, I guess, our forefathers wanted us to have AK-47s is the argument, I assume.”

He also noted the incredibly high amount of support there is across the country for commonsense action regarding guns.

Watch Kimmel’s heart-wrenching appeal below.

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59 Dead & 527 Injured Still Won’t Move Lawmakers To Do Anything About Gun Violence

Being here in Las Vegas, it’s been a mixed bag of emotions as we’ve all watched the news throughout the day regarding the horrific mass shooting at singer Jason Aldean’s performance at the Route 91 Harvest Festival that left 59 dead and 527 injured.

On one hand, there’s a numb sadness hanging in the air.

But the incredible acts of kindness by folks across the city are deeply inspiring as we see folks donating blood, blankets, water and more.

Steve Sisolak, Clark County Commission Chair from Las Vegas, set up a GoFundMe campaign to assist the victims of the tragic Las Vegas shooting.

Funds will be used to provide relief and financial support to the victims and families of the horrific Las Vegas mass shooting.

At this writing over $1.6 million has been raised in only 10 hours.

Earlier today, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters that this isn’t the time to address any kind of gun control policy.

But, if not now, when?

After past mass shooting incidents, we’ve seen up to 90% agreement by the American people that there should be at the very least commonsense background checks for folks buying guns.

Sen. Chris Murphy called on Congress to “get off it’s ass and do something.”

“My heart goes out to the victims, their families, the first responders, and the entire Las Vegas community. Nowhere but America do horrific large-scale mass shootings happen with this degree of regularity. Last night’s massacre may go down as the deadliest in our nation’s history, but already this year there have been more mass shootings than days in the year.

“This must stop. It is positively infuriating that my colleagues in Congress are so afraid of the gun industry that they pretend there aren’t public policy responses to this epidemic. There are, and the thoughts and prayers of politicians are cruelly hollow if they are paired with continued legislative indifference. It’s time for Congress to get off its ass and do something.”

Bolding is mine.

But Congress won’t touch the issue.

According to reports, the NRA pumped $30 million into getting Donald Trump elected president. And tons of money goes into Congressional Republican election coffers.

And according to these figures being shared on social media, these nine Republican senators received 22 million by the NRA:

•Mitch McConnell (R-KY): $1,262,189
•Roy Blunt (R-MO): $1,433,952
•Pat Roberts (R-KS): $1,584,153
•Tom Cotton (R-AR): $1,968,714
•David Perdue (R-GA): $1,997,512
•Bill Cassidy (R-LA): $2,867,074
•Joni Ernst (R-IA): $3,124,773
•Cory Gardner (R-CO): $3,939,199
•Thom Tillis (R-NC): $4,418,833

So, even though you’ll see expressions of “thoughts and prayers” across the nation, don’t expect any gun policy changes anytime soon.

As Dan Hodges, a commentator for The Mail once wrote, “In retrospect, ​Sandy Hook marked the end of the US gun control debate. Once America decided killing children was bearable, it was over.”

Still, folks took to Twitter to express their outrage. One thing folks made note of was the White House’s clear reticence to use the term “terrorist” in describing the man who terrorized tens of thousands of people.

Nevada law states an “act of terrorism means any act that involves the use or attempted use of sabotage, coercion or violence which is intended to cause great bodily harm or death to the general population.”

In other words, the shooter in Las Vegas was a domestic terrorist.

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Las Vegas: More Than 50 Dead, Over 400 Injured In Mandalay Bay Shooting

Stephen Paddock

From the New York Times:

A gunman on a high floor of a Las Vegas hotel rained a rapid-fire barrage on a huge outdoor concert festival on Sunday night, killing more than 50 people, injuring hundreds of others, and sending thousands of terrified survivors fleeing for cover, in one of the deadliest mass shootings in American history.

Online video of the attack near the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino showed the singer Jason Aldean performing outside at the Route 91 Harvest Festival, a three-day country music event, interrupted by the sound of automatic gunfire. The music stopped, and as victims fell, bleeding, concertgoers screamed, ducked for cover, or ran.

“Get down,” one shouted. “Stay down,” screamed another.

“Currently the Clark County Fire Department is estimating the injuries to be well over 400” Sheriff Joseph Lombardo of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said on Monday morning. One of those killed was an off-duty Las Vegas police officer, the department said.

He said there were about 22,000 people at the concert.

SWAT units swarmed the upper floors of the Mandalay Bay, closing in on the source of the shooting, a 32nd-floor room where they found the gunman, with “in excess of 10 rifles,” the sheriff said. “We believe the individual killed himself prior to our entry.”

The first reports of the shooting came at 10:08 p.m. local time, and officers overheard on police radio reported being pinned down by gunfire. Shortly before midnight the Las Vegas police reported that “one suspect is down,” and soon after the police said they did not believe there were any more active gunmen.

The sheriff identified the gunman as Stephen Paddock, 64, of Mesquite, Nev., who had no significant prior criminal history.

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Bigoted Radio Host Booted From Las Vegas Airwaves Over Anti-LGBT Adoption Comments

Over the weekend I posted about a Facebook chat I had with a stranger who said there was no point in calling out haters because “you’ll never run out of work.”

You want to know what happens when people raise their voices and point out hate?

This.

Just a couple of days ago, CBS Radio host Heidi Harris decided she had a problem with a new ad here in Las Vegas for Clark County Family Services. The spot included two gay dads with their son.

Harris took to Facebook to share her ignorant outrage:

“Has anyone seen this ad for Clark County Family Services? Another no-so-subtle attempt to normalize something that is NOT normal. Even if this is normal for YOU, it’s not the best thing for a baby.

“Babies who are eligible for adoption should go to MARRIED people of the opposite sex. That is the IDEAL situation for a baby, and political correctness, changing laws or attitudes cannot alter that REALITY.

“And please don’t comment here about how “some straight people aren’t good parents” or how “you know gay people who are great parents”…blah blah blah… I am fully aware of that. I’m talking about what’s best for the CHILD, and that’s what the County should be promoting.”

You know what “reality” CAN be altered? Ms. Harris’s.

Her comment didn’t go over well in Las Vegas, and just two days later Harris’ show is no longer on the air here in Las Vegas.

Las Vegas LGBTQ activist Kavin Burkhalter just sent me the email below from CBS Radio SVP/market Manager Tony Perlongo:

“Thank you for your email. We appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts with us and want to assure you that we take comments about our programming and personalities seriously.

“Please note that, effective immediately, The Heidi Harris Show will no longer air on KXNT.”

Bravo Las Vegas!

#WeCanBuildABeautifulCity