Weapons & Guns

The Las Vegas shooter apparently turned one of his rifles into a fully automatic weapon with an inexpensive modification that can easily be bought online.

It appears Stephen Paddock -- the man who brutally murdered 59 people and injured over 500 -- attached what's called a slide fire stock or bump stock to one of his 23 guns before spraying hundreds, if not thousands, of bullets into a crowd of concertgoers from his 32nd floor Mandalay Bay hotel room.

The stock allows the shooter to hold the trigger once and fire in rapid fashion at hundreds of rounds per minute, essentially making it a fully automatic rifle or something extremely close to it.

Automatic weapons are nearly impossible to obtain but a stock runs about $160 online, and it's legal.

It appears Paddock also had a SureFire 100 magazine hooked on the rifle with the stock. The 64-year-old reportedly had multiple high-capacity magazines loaded.

Sunday's shooting is the deadliest in modern U.S. history.

The Mandalay Bay hotel room where the Las Vegas shooter opened fire was littered with bullets and his arsenal of high-powered weapons.

Video, obtained by TMZ, shows one rifle, still on a bipod, just inside the demolished door to the suite. You can see the damage left after police blew up the door to get to Stephen Paddock ... who had already killed himself by that point.

Photos obtained by Boston25 news showed even more weapons and ammo scattered on the floor.

All told, police say Paddock had 23 firearms in the hotel room -- plus 19 more guns, explosives and several thousand rounds of ammo in his Mesquite, Nevada home.

The guy behind the Vegas massacre bought some of his weapons at a gun store right near his Nevada home ... a place that touts itself as the best spot in town to buy firearms ... and guitars.

Stephen Paddock loaded up at the Guns & Guitars store in Mesquite, NV -- where you can buy a semi-automatic rifle on a Monday ... and come back for a guitar session every other Tuesday.

Seriously ... the place is currently running a student guitar special, $99 for a guitar with a strap and 4 picks ... while offering a free box of ammo with the purchase of a handgun.

Want to combine the best of guns and guitars? They also sell an M-16 Machine Gun Guitar for $225.

So far, no word on which guns Paddock bought from G&G -- but store officials confirmed he was a customer ... on the gun side of the store.

The store issued a statement saying, "All necessary background checks and procedures were followed" when Paddock bought guns from them.

"He never gave any indication or reason to believe he was unstable or unfit at any time."

Jason Aldean -- who was performing at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Vegas when shots first rang out -- is now voicing his despair, pleading with Americans to act civilly.

Aldean says he's gone through a variety of emotions since the Sunday night massacre -- fear, anger, heartache and compassion. He says, "The world is becoming the kind of place I am afraid to raise my children in."

And then he says, "We aren't Democrats or Republicans, Whites or Blacks, Men or Women. We are all humans and we are all Americans and it's time to start acting like it and stand together as ONE!"

He ends with an elusive wish ... "Time to come together and stop the hate!"

America's terrorist organization isn't a four-letter word, it's only three ... as in the NRA, according to Public Enemy's Chuck D.

Chuck's outrage was obvious when we asked how he was feeling about the mass shooting in Las Vegas -- and he's laying blame squarely at President Trump's feet. As far as he's concerned, the administration's blindly backing the NRA ... even in the wake of atrocities.

Still, PE's frontman sounded hopeful things will eventually change ... but says it's on the next generation to make it happen.

Dana White tells TMZ Sports ... the UFC will donate $1 million to help the victims affected by the Las Vegas shooting.

The UFC honcho said Vegas is his town -- it's where UFC is based and where he lives -- and he feels it's his duty to help the city recover in any way he can.

The tragic shooting in Las Vegas hit close to home for UFC superstar Cody Garbrandt ... who tells TMZ Sports a very good friend of his wife was shot twice while attending the Route 91 Harvest Fest.

Cody says his wife, Danny Pimsanguan, lives on the Vegas strip -- and was "hysterical" knowing several of her friends had attended the music festival ... including one who was rushed to the hospital with multiple gunshot wounds.

Garbrandt tells us he can't stop thinking about victims of the massacre ... and is urging UFC fans to join him and other fighters in Vegas to donate to blood drives.

The most dangerous thing to Americans isn't guns or ISIS ... it's your fellow Americans, according to D.L. Hughley.

We got D.L. Monday morning following the Las Vegas massacre which killed at least 58 concertgoers and injured more than 500.

D.L. points out there were no laws stopping the gunman, Stephen Paddock, from pulling off the deadliest mass shooting of all time. As he puts it ... it's easier to get assault weapons in America than it is Sudafed.

The LAPD has now determined there was NO shooting on the USC campus.

Officials say a "systematic search was conducted" and there is "no danger to community."

More than a dozen LAPD squad cars raced to the University of Southern California campus moments ago after reports of a shooting ... though cops have not confirmed that shots were actually fired.

USC has sent an alert saying, "Police searching Fertitta Hall. Shots reported but not confirmed. Shelter in place."

Video has surfaced showing police investigating and students running from campus.

Students are being escorted away from the buildings and told to go inside.

Some students are reporting that they heard gunfire. Cops have yet to confirm shots fired. They are currently looking.

We're told the LAPD have found no victims.

The Oakland Raiders aren't just sending thoughts and prayers to the victims of the Vegas massacre -- they're sending money.

TMZ Sports has confirmed the Raiders donated $50,000 to the Las Vegas Victims' Fund -- a GoFundMe page set up by Clark County Commission Chair Steve Sisolak.

"We are raising funds to assist the victim's of the tragic Las Vegas shooting. I am at Clark County's only level-one trauma center with the victims and their families as we speak," Sisolak said.

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

The Raiders are eventually moving to Vegas -- and the team has issued a statement saying, "The heart of the Raider Nation goes out to Las Vegas."

Stephen Paddock's brother Eric Paddock seemed dumbfounded by the monstrous actions of his sibling.

Eric just appeared on CBS News and said his brother was not an avid gun collector. He had no idea where Stephen Paddock got automatic weapons ... no idea at all.

Eric was in the dark, because cops have already searched Stephen Paddock's home and it appears they found a cache of weapons and ammo. The recently-built house was well kept in the upscale retirement community.

Eric painted his brother as a normal guy living in Nevada ... eating burritos and gambling.

He was also relieved his brother didn't harm his girlfriend. He actually seems unsure whether she was his girlfriend or whether they were secretly married.

President Trump just addressed the nation on television for the first time since the mass shooting in Vegas.

In a response from The White House, Trump praised first responders and expressed his sympathy for the victims, their families and those injured during the attack.

Trump offered his "warmest condolences and sympathies" early Monday morning on Twitter after 64-year-old Stephen Paddock opened fire to a crowd of more than 20,000 concertgoers from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay resort. At least 58 are dead and more than 500 people were rushed to hospitals.

Jason Aldean was in the middle of a performance late Sunday night when bullets rained down. Paddock, who cops say had more than 10 rifles in his room, shot and killed himself.

Trump called the LVMPD to thank them for their efforts.

LATEST DETAILS:

UPDATE 9:13 AM PT Authorities now say the shooter had no ties to any international terrorist group.

Police have identified the lone shooter responsible for opening fire Sunday night on the Route 91 Harvest Fest -- killing at least 58 people and injuring more than 500 others.

Cops in Las Vegas say the shooter, 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, was located in a room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. Police had been seeking Paddock's girlfriend, Marilou Danley, as a person of interest, but they've found her and say she was NOT involved in the shooting.

ISIS is now claiming responsibility for the massacre, and claiming Paddock converted to Islam months ago.

Police say Paddock lived in nearby Mesquite, Nevada in a retirement community ... and did not have any previous criminal record there. His age does not fit the typical profile in mass shooting cases. Cops say when they stormed his room they found him dead.

It's clear from the horrific videos from the scene -- the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history -- that Paddock rained down hundreds of rounds from an automatic weapon before he was killed. He reportedly had nearly 10 more weapons with him in the hotel room.

Jason Aldean was performing when the shooting began. He and his band were able to scramble to safety as bullets reportedly ricocheted onto the stage.

At least one off-duty police officer is among the fatalities.

Police in Las Vegas are responding to a mass shooting at the Mandalay Bay Resort, where multiple people are reportedly injured ... and multiple shooters are suspected.

Videos from social media started pouring in late Sunday night showing multiple rounds being fired from what sounds like a rooftop or from somewhere up high. People are taking cover and running for their lives.

The shots started raining down on concert goers who were watching a set from Jason Aldean during the final night of the Route 91 country music festival. He, and onlookers, froze when the first rounds started being fired ... and chaos and panic ensued. The shots are clearly coming from automatic or semi-automatic weapons.

Unclear how many people might be dead ... but multiple are reportedly injured.

Story developing ...

The Mandalay Bay hotel room where Stephen Paddock opened fire Sunday night has 2 windows obliterated by gunfire.

The curtains in the 32nd floor room were billowing Monday morning through the massive holes left after the shooting. Police stormed the room to find Paddock already dead ... apparently from a self-inflicted gunshot.

He'd reportedly checked in to the hotel on Thursday.

Paddock killed at least 50 people and injured more than 400 people Sunday night who were attending the Route 91 country music festival.

Dan Bilzerian was recording on his cell phone as bullets rained down while fleeing the Route 91 Festival in Vegas, and he witnessed a horrific scene ... a woman getting shot in the head.

Dan posted this video Sunday night as concertgoers at the Mandalay Bay Resort ran for cover when 64-year-old Stephen Paddock started shooting. At least 50 are dead, more than 400 people were transported to hospitals.

Las Vegas police say Paddock killed himself in his room before SWAT team entered his room.

The frantic police audio during the Vegas massacre underscores the terror at the venue as bullets rained down into the crowd.

You hear law enforcement in the audio frantically screaming as they determined the shots are coming from an upstairs room at the Mandalay Bay resort. Some scream about multiple people being hit.

And then there's this ... a warning to police to lock their police cars because people in the area are trying to take their rifles that are inside the vehicles.