Trump says it's a 'miracle' how quickly the Las Vegas shooter was found
President Trump is known to pick words and cling tightly to them, and Tuesday's word of the day appears to be "miracle."
"It is a 'miracle' how fast the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police were able to find the demented shooter and stop him from even more killing!" Trump tweeted Tuesday night. Earlier in the day, Trump said what happened in Las Vegas "is in many ways a miracle. The police department has done such an incredible job, and we'll be talking about gun laws as time goes by. But I do have to say how quickly the police department was able to get in was really very much of a miracle. They've done an amazing job." He also called the recovery in Puerto Rico, where many people remain without water and electricity and the death toll now stands at 34, "really nothing short of a miracle."
The shooting Sunday night at the Route 91 Harvest Festival left 58 people dead, not including the gunman, and more than 500 injured. Clark County Undersheriff Kevin McMahill said Tuesday night the first call about shots being fired was received at 10:08 p.m., and suspect Stephen Paddock fired "off and on for between nine and 11 minutes." Before SWAT arrived, police officers already working at the Mandalay Bay hotel at another event formed a team and went from floor to floor trying to find the shooter and evacuating guests, McMahill said, and a security guard was shot by Paddock when he approached his suite's door. About an hour after officers discovered Paddock's location, law enforcement was able to enter, and he was reported dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at 11:58 p.m.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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