A Wellington man who had just arrived on the Las Vegas strip was confronted by the sight of people running from a mass shooting.
Las Vegas authorities say 58 people are dead and over 500 people are wounded after a man opened fire on an outdoor concert late Sunday local time (Monday night NZT).
Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo says officers confronted the suspect on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino across the street from the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival.
Authorities say the man, a local resident, is dead and it was a "lone wolf" attack.
Ben Northrop has told 1 NEWS he and a colleague were sitting in a 2018 dodge V8 rental car happily, the first time for him in Las Vegas, on an insurance conference.
"Just underneath the Mandalay as we were about to drive past it a bunch of people kept running down the streets and yelling," Mr Northrop said last night, having just been let out of the cordoned area after several hours.
"And some obvious commotion going on and police officers and security guards running out, ducking and running and looking for cover obviously.
"We turned around straight away and heard a lot, hundreds of police cars coming down the same way. So we took off down the road a bit and talked to a few people who were running away.
"And apparently ... there was a shooting at a country and western gig in the Mandalay where someone had walked up to a woman at the bar, at the event in the Mandalay and shot her in the head, point blank. Everyone ran away from that situation.”
"Don't know if it was the same people or different people, but they went upstairs and were on the balcony shooting down at police officers and people down on the street on the strip.
"We were right there unfortunately as it happened and we were talking to a woman who was right beside the lady who first got shot in the head. She is very shaken up."
Mr Northrop said there were people all over the place covered in blood who were trying to help people who had been shot.
"The whole place has closed down. Very eerie, a lot of scared people, alot of hurt people, obviously a lot of worried people for family and friends who were at the event," he said.
"We are kind of more in shock. It's pretty surreal coming to Vegas for the first time and literally driving down the strip for the first time on the way to the Barcelo where we were staying and that happening, it is still surreal."
Mr Lombardo said they are looking for a roommate of the dead suspect as a person of interest.
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