As the annual Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas came to a close last Sunday, October 10, bullets suddenly rained down on the event’s crowd of 22,000 people. The audience frantically raced to safety during this horrific 10 minute killing spree.  Police soon discovered the gunfire was coming from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino which overlooks the concert venue.  Ultimately, law enforcement stormed the hotel room, where they found the alleged shooter dead on the floor from an apparent self-inflicted bullet wound; he was surrounded by an arsenal of modified assault rifles and hundreds of rounds of ammunition.

During this carnage, the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history, 58 people were killed and approximately 500 people injured. Local hospital emergency rooms, operating rooms, and medical personnel were swamped by the sudden inflow of patients. Care centers made desperate appeals for blood donations and the public responded overwhelmingly, with blood donors lining up for blocks.

Though the investigation is still in its early stages, authorities know that the alleged shooter Stephen Paddock was an affluent 64-year-old retired accountant and heavy gambler from Mesquite, Nevada with no criminal record or obvious motive. At present, federal agents are confused since they have not found any past history that would have motviated Mr. Paddock to commit mass murder. As suggested by President Trump, who visited Las Vegas last Wednesday, this was “an act of pure evil.”

Despite the universal shock and shared outrage at this senseless carnage, it did not take long for partisan jockeying to come to the forefront, reigniting the gun control debate. Currently, Washington appears to be focused on legislating a bump stock ban, which would prevent people from making semi automatic weapons automatic, and the NRA, which has not supported any form of gun regulation for the past 30 years, has indicated it will not oppose the measure. California Senator Dianne Feinstein (D) has already introduced legislation to ban these deadly modifications and the Senate seems poised to reach a bipartisan consensus on the issue.

Sources: New York Times, CNN, NY Post, Washington Post, Governing