On Sunday evening, a lone gunman in Las Vegas left at least 50 dead and more than 400 injured at an outdoor music festival. Police said the shooter, identified as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, killed himself as they closed in on him inside the Mandalay Bay Hotel.
The massacre is the deadliest in United States history, and for at least one major law enforcement official, it’s something Americans will just have to get used to.
During an appearance on MSNBC Live with Stephanie Ruhle, former New York City and Los Angeles police commissioner Bill Bratton sounded a grim tone, telling Ruhle that there was little police could do.
“Commissioner, I won’t accept that this is the new normal. What is this?” Ruhle asked.
“This is the new normal in America, unfortunately. The number of mass shootings, the pace of them has been increasing, and now we have the worst ever,” he responded, adding that the real thing that law enforcement found surprising was why there weren’t more such incidents.
“The sheer availability of incredible weaponry in this country, the number of people who are emotionally disturbed or have grievances, it is so easy to do,” he said. “The term the ‘new normal’ is something security and policing in America is focusing on.”
The commissioner’s solemn analysis will likely only fuel the outpouring of grief that has cascaded across the United States as Americans woke up to the news. On Twitter, other performers from the Route 91 festival were joined by President Trump, Hollywood and music stars and the public in tweeting out their grief and condolences at the loss of life.
At this time, police believe Paddock acted alone, but a woman and companion — 62-year-old Marilou Danley — has been identified as a “person of interest” in the case.
“We have discovered. He was utilizing some of her identification and we’ve had conversation with her and believe her — at this time — not to be involved,” Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Sheriff Joe Lombardo said during a press conference early Monday morning.
Mass Shootings in America That Horrified All of Us (Photos)
Newtown, Conn. - On December 14, 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza fatally shot 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementary School. They were between the ages of six and seven years old. He also killed six adult staff members.
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Washington D.C. — A former Navy reservist shot and killed 12 people on September 16, 2013, at a military facility. The gunman was killed.
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Tyrone, Mo. - On Feb. 27, 2015, Joseph Jesse Aldridge killed seven people — four of them relatives — in a door-to-door shooting spree before killing himself.
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Waco, Tex. - Nine people were killed and many more were injured after two biker gangs began firing at each other at a motorcycle club on May 17, 2015.
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Charleston, S.C. - Dylann Roof shot and killed nine people during a racially motivated shooting in a predominantly African-American church on June 17, 2015.
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Chattanooga, Tenn. - A gunman named Mohammod Youssuf Abdulazeez entered two military facilities on July 16, 2015, and killed four Marines and injured others, before he was killed.
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Umpqua, Ore. - On October 1, 2015, Chris Harper Mercer killed nine people and injured seven to nine more at Umpqua Community College before two police officers shot him. Mercer then committed suicide.
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San Bernardino, Calif. - 14 people were killed and another 21 injured after Syed Farook and Tashfeen Malik opened fire during a holiday party on December 2, 2015. The pair were later killed during a shootout with police.
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Orlando, Fla. - 50 people were killed and 53 wounded on June 11, 2016, at Pulse, a gay nightclub. Just before the shooting, suspected killer Omar Mateen called 911 and pledged his allegiance to the terror group ISIS. Mateen was also shot an killed by police on the scene.
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TheWrap looks back at recent mass shootings that have happened on U.S. soil
Newtown, Conn. - On December 14, 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza fatally shot 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementary School. They were between the ages of six and seven years old. He also killed six adult staff members.