Las Vegas strip turns off lights to honour victims of America's deadliest mass shooting
The neon street went black last night
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Your support makes all the difference.The famous Las Vegas strip turned off its lights on Monday night to honour the 59 victims of America’s deadliest mass shooting.
A candlelight vigil attended by hundreds of mourners on the corner of Sahara Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard stood out in the darkness and the High Roller, a 550ft tall Ferris wheel, was lit in red, white and blue.
On Sunday night 64-year-old Steven Paddock began a killing spree from a 32nd-floor window of the Mandalay Bay hotel. Using 34 high powered guns, he began shooting at a crowd of 22,000 who were attending an outdoor country music festival.
In addition to the 59 killed, more than 500 were injured, some trampled in the crush, and the death toll is feared to rise in the coming days.
The neon street is an iconic part of the resort city and its glow can be seen for miles away. After going dark the strip lit up with messages of support. One sign read: “Our prayers for the victims.”
Other landmarks around the world also went dark in solidarity with Las Vegas. In Paris the Eiffel Tower switched off its lights to show its support for the victims. France had suffered its own atrocity a day earlier when a man stabbed two women to death outside the main train station in Marseille. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, although Las Vegas sheriff Joseph Lombardo described Paddock as a "lone wolf" and said, "We have no idea what his belief system was".
In New York, the Empire State building also went dark on Monday night “in sympathy” with those affected by the attack. An orange halo was lit at the top of the building to raise awareness for the victims of gun violence.
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