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Las Vegas shooting: Trump tribute to emergency 'heroes' Las Vegas shooting: Paddock's girlfriend denies knowledge of attack
(about 3 hours later)
President Donald Trump visited first responders who attended the Las Vegas shooting on Sunday, saying he was "in the company of heroes". The girlfriend of the Las Vegas gunman who shot dead 58 people on Sunday has said she had no idea what her "kind, caring, quiet" partner was planning.
"America is truly a nation in mourning" following the worst shooting in modern US history, he said. Marilou Danley arrived back in the US on Tuesday, two days after her partner Stephen Paddock carried out the attack.
The attack left 58 people dead and more than 500 injured. It was the worst shooting in modern US history, with more than 500 injured.
"In the depths of horror, we will always find hope in the men and women who risk their lives for ours," Mr Trump said. US President Donald Trump, who visited the city on Wednesday, said "America is truly a nation in mourning" in the wake of the mass killings.
Applauding the wounded officers he had visited earlier in hospital, he said: "When the worst of humanity strikes - and strike it did - the best of humanity responds." In a statement read by her lawyer, Ms Danley said Paddock "never said anything to me or took any action" which she understood as a warning of what was to come.
"Words cannot describe the bravery that the whole world witnessed on Sunday night. Americans defied death and hatred with love and with courage," he said. "I loved him and hoped for a quiet future together with him," she said, expressing shock at the "horrible unspeakable acts of violence" Paddock had committed.
First Lady Melania Trump joined the president to meet some of the victims and emergency responders on Wednesday. US authorities named Ms Danley a "person of interest" in their investigation and said they had made contact with her shortly after the shooting.
Mr Trump told reporters at the University Medical Center in Las Vegas: "I have to tell you it makes you very proud to be an American when you see the job that they've done." Ms Danley voluntarily flew back to Los Angeles from the the Philippines on Tuesday night to speak to the FBI, just over two weeks after Paddock had surprised her with a "cheap ticket" to enable her to visit her family.
The gunman, Stephen Paddock, shot himself dead as police approached. While there, he wired her $100,000 (£75,400), explaining it was to buy a house.
His girlfriend was being questioned on Wednesday by the FBI after arriving in Los Angeles from the Philippines on Tuesday night. "I was grateful, but honestly I was worried it was a way for him to break up with me," she said. "It never occurred to me in any way whatsoever that he was planning violence against anyone."
The president was joined by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Nevada congressman Mark Amodei and Nevada Senator Dean Heller, who had constituents killed in the attack. Her sisters earlier told Australian outlet 7News that Ms Danley "was sent away... so that she will not be there to interfere with what he's planning".
On Sunday, Paddock, a 64-year-old retired accountant with no criminal record, unloaded his gun into a crowd at a country music festival from the 32nd floor of his suite at the Mandalay Bay Hotel. Paddock checked into a suite on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel on 28 September, reportedly using some of Ms Danley's identity documents.
He had some 23 weapons with him and had set up cameras both inside and outside the suite to see anyone approaching the room, police said. At about 22:08 on 1 October, he unleashed the first round of gunfire into the unsuspecting crowd at a country music festival.
Witnesses described hundreds of shots being fired. What sounded like automatic gunfire can be heard on videos from the scene. Over the course of the next nine to 11 minutes, he killed 58 people and injured more than 500 others, before it is understood he turned the gun on himself.
Is the gunman's girlfriend a suspect? On Wednesday, President Trump praised the emergency services who battled to save as many as they could, despite the danger to themselves.
Police have yet to establish a motive for the attack but took Paddock's girlfriend, Marilou Danley, for questioning after she arrived in Los Angeles from the Philippines on Tuesday night. "When the worst of humanity strikes - and strike it did - the best of humanity responds," he said as he applauded injured officers.
US authorities have named Ms Danley a "person of interest" in their investigation and said they made contact with her shortly after the shooting. "In the depths of horror, we will always find hope in the men and women who risk their lives for ours," he added.
Paddock reportedly wired $100,000 (£75,400) to her in the Philippines, where she had been since late September, before the rampage, local media have reported. Mr Trump said he was in the "company of heroes" after visiting the first responders.
Her sisters told Australian outlet 7News that Ms Danley had not known about the trip until Paddock told her he had bought her a ticket to the Philippines. "Words cannot describe the bravery that the whole world witnessed on Sunday night," he said. "Americans defied death and hatred with love and with courage."
"She was sent away... so that she will not be there to interfere with what he's planning," they said.
Paddock checked into the Mandalay Bay Hotel on 28 September, reportedly using some of Ms Danley's identity documents.
The Philippines' National Bureau of Investigation told AFP news agency it was investigating reports that Paddock sent $100,000 to Ms Danley in the Philippines days before the shooting.
An unnamed US official told Reuters news agency that investigators were assuming the amount was intended as a form of life insurance.
What do we know of the gunman?
Paddock, who had a big gambling habit, lived in a community of senior citizens in the small town of Mesquite, north-east of Las Vegas.
He reportedly shared his house there with Ms Danley.
Nineteen firearms, some explosives and several thousand rounds of ammunition with electronic devices were found at the property.
According to reports, Paddock had a troubled upbringing - his father was a bank robber who regularly beat him and his three brothers, while his mother struggled to cope bringing up the family.
Will the attack trigger more demand for gun controls?Will the attack trigger more demand for gun controls?
The shooting has prompted calls for reform to US gun laws.The shooting has prompted calls for reform to US gun laws.
But Mr Trump - who has been backed by the National Rifle Association, and spoke often of protecting gun rights during his campaign - has tried to steer clear of leaning too far either way.But Mr Trump - who has been backed by the National Rifle Association, and spoke often of protecting gun rights during his campaign - has tried to steer clear of leaning too far either way.
After visiting Puerto Rico on Tuesday, he said "perhaps that [time] will come" for a debate.After visiting Puerto Rico on Tuesday, he said "perhaps that [time] will come" for a debate.
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First Lady Melania Trump joined the president to meet some of the victims and emergency responders on Wednesday.
Mr Trump told reporters at the University Medical Center in Las Vegas: "I have to tell you it makes you very proud to be an American when you see the job that they've done."
The president was joined by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Nevada congressman Mark Amodei and Nevada Senator Dean Heller, who had constituents killed in the attack.
Witnesses described hundreds of shots being fired. What sounded like automatic gunfire can be heard on videos from the scene.