Las Vegas Strip massacre latest in grim list of U.S. mass shootings

At least 59people were killed and more than 500 wounded when a gunman opened fire on an outdoor music festival on the Las Vegas Strip in the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

Authorities have identified the suspected gunman in the Sunday night shooting as Stephen Paddock. Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said officers confronted Paddock on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino across the street from the concert. Paddock fatally shot himself, according to authorities.

Here's a look at some of the deadliest rampages involving guns in the U.S. since the Second World War. The locations of the tragedies have ranged from schools, workplaces, restaurants and bars, public spaces and even on military bases. With one exception involving a husband and wife, the perpetrators have all been male.

2017: Las Vegas

A gunman identified by authorities as Stephen Paddock opened fire on an outdoor music festival on the Las Vegas Strip from the 32nd floor of casino on Oct. 1, 2017, killing at least 58 people and wounding more than 515. He died at the scene after officers went into the hotel room he was using.

Social media videos capture chaos during Vegas mass shooting

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Warning: Disturbing content | Las Vegas shooting as seen through social media posts at the ground level.

2016: Orlando, Fla.

A gunman armed with a semi-automatic rifle and a handgun opened fire on June 12, 2016 at a nightclub popular with gay men, killing 49 people and injuring 53 others. Omar Mateen, a 29-year-old security guard, was later shot and killed by police at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Fla., suffering eight bullet wounds according to an autopsy report. The FBI said the shooter had been frequenting radical Islamic websites but there was no evidence he had been directed by any group.

2015: San Bernardino, Calif.

A husband born in the U.S. and his wife, who had immigrated from Pakistan, opened fire at a social services centre in San Bernardino, Calif., on Dec. 2, 2015. Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik killed 14 people and wounded more than 20. They fled the scene but died hours later in a shootout with police. The shooters had discussed martyrdom and violent jihad online in the preceding months, officials said.

A former neighbour was later convicted on several charges, including providing the weapons for the shooters, who worried their Middle Eastern appearance would arouse suspicions.

2013: Washington, D.C.

Aaron Alexis, a mentally disturbed civilian contractor, shot 12 people to death at the Washington Navy Yard in D.C. before he was killed by police in a shootout. The victims in the Sept. 16, 2013 attack were Navy contractors or civilian employees. All but one victim died at the scene.

2012: Newtown, Conn.

An armed 20-year-old man with a history of mental illness entered Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, 2012 and used a semi-automatic rifle to kill 26 people, including 20 first graders and six adult school staff members. Adam Lanza had first killed his mother at a local residence. After the campus massacre, Lanza killed himself.

2012: Aurora, Colo.

A 27-year-old man fatally shot 12 people and injured 70 in an Aurora, Colo., movie theatre during a July 20, 2012 nighttime screening of The Batman movie The Dark Knight Rises. James Holmes was sentenced to life in prison without parole. A jury rejected an insanity defence.

2009: Binghamton, N.Y.

An unemployed 42-year-old man killed 13 people at a community centre in Binghamton, N.Y., on April 3, 2009, including several who were taking a citizenship course. Gunman Jiverly Wong, who fatally shot himself, had mailed a rambling note to a local television station to coincide with the shooting.

2009: Fort Hood, Killeen, Texas

Maj. Nidal Hasan, a U.S.-born Muslim who was an army psychiatrist, opened fire at the Fort Hood base on Nov. 5, 2009, killing 13. Hasan, 39 at the time of the shooting, was apprehended and has been sentenced to death. Doctors overseeing his medical training repeatedly had flagged others about his zealous Islamic views, according to information received by The Associated Press.

2007: Blacksburg, Va.

A senior at Virginia Tech, armed with two handguns, killed 32 people at various locations on campus on April 16, 2007. Seung-Hui Choi had raised concerns with previous antisocial behaviour and a disturbing creative writing assignment. Choi, born in South Korea but raised in the U.S., sent a rambling manifesto to U.S. news networks. He committed suicide at the scene.

1999: Littleton, Colo.

A pair of male students, Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, opened fire at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., on April 20, 1999, killing 12 classmates and a teacher and wounding 26 others before killing themselves in the school's library. It was the deadliest of a spate of school shootings to afflict the U.S. in 1998 and 1999.

1991: Killeen, Texas

George Hennard, unemployed 35-year-old man from the local area, went on a shooting rampage in Killeen, Texas, at Luby's Cafeteria, killing 23 people before taking his own life. About 20 people were injured in the Oct. 16, 1991 attack. At the time it was the deadliest shooting in U.S. history.

1986: Edmond, Okla.

Pat Sherrill, 44, a postal worker who was about to be fired, shot 14 people at a post office on Aug. 20, 1986. He then killed himself.

1984: San Ysidro, Calif.

An unemployed security guard killed 21 people in a McDonald's restaurant in San Ysidro, Calif., on on July 18, 1984. A police sharpshooter killed the gunman, James Huberty, who had left cryptic comments with his wife before leaving the house en route to his killing spree.

1966: Austin, Texas

A 25-year-old former Marine killed his mother and father before unleashing a shooting spree at the University of Texas at Austin campus on Aug. 1, 1966. The majority of the campus shootings occurred with Charles Whitman firing down from an observation deck at the university's clock tower. He was shot and killed by police in the tower.

The death toll of 17 innocent victims includes the unborn child of a pregnant woman who survived, and a man who survived and lived into his late 50s; medical officials concluded a lodged bullet contributed to his 2001 death.