Mass shooting in Las Vegas, world leaders react

LONDON — World leaders offered condolences Monday after the mass shooting in Las Vegas that killed at least 58 people and injured hundreds .
The gunman , identified as 64-year - old Stephen Paddock, opened fire from the 32nd floor of a hotel late Sunday on concertgoers enjoying a country music festival in Las Vegas . The attack is the deadliest mass shooting in modern U . S . history .
Even though foreigners are not necessarily surprised by mass shootings in the United States — shocked , yes, but not surprised — reports of the attack were leading news bulletins in several countries.

In Britain , where 22 people were killed leaving an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester earlier this year , the prime minister tweeted her condolences after the Las Vegas shooting.

“ The UK’ s thoughts are with the victims and the emergency services responding to the appalling attack in Las Vegas, ” she wrote.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said that he was “ horrified” by the “ awful and indiscriminate ” attack and that his office was working with U . S . authorities to determine whether any Britons were affected .

In Paris , French President Emmanuel Macron offered words of comfort.
“ Emotional thoughts for our American partners and friends who have had to suffer the violence of our times in Las Vegas a few hours ago , ” he tweeted Monday .

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo announced on Twitter that the Eiffel Tower , the French capital’s most iconic landmark, will go dark at midnight “ in homage to the victims of the attacks in Marseille and Las Vegas . ” On Sunday night, two women were killed when a man attacked them with a knife at Marseille ’ s train station.

In a bid to explain the carnage, Le Monde , a leading French newspaper , observed that the United States , “ with 85 arms per 100 inhabitants , is also the Western country where the proportion of deaths by gunshots is the highest . ”

Russian state-run, 24- hour news channels also covered the attack . In remarks to the Vesti television station , Adalbi Skhagoshev , a member of the Russian State Duma' s committee on foreign affairs , told an anchor that the shooting “ was clearly an act of terror” and should provoke a legislative response.

“ There are stores in some states where you can buy long -range weapons even without a passport , ” Skhagoshev said . “ So , of course , there should be legislation in response to these kinds of incidents in the United States . ”

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev took to Facebook to express his condolences . “ I am shocked by the tragedy in Las Vegas , ” he wrote in Russian and in English.
“ The crime is striking in its violence and cynicism . Russia shares the sorrow of those who lost their relatives and friends . We pass our sympathy and support to them and wish a speedy recovery to the injured. ”

“ I condemn in the strongest terms possible today' s terror attack in Las Vegas , NV, ” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Twitter . “ I sincerely hope that such attacks won 't happen in the future . On behalf of the Turkish people , I offer my condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims and all Americans. ”

Pope Francis said he was “ deeply saddened” and called the shooting a “ senseless tragedy . ”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said , “ Words fail this morning . The friendship & support of Canadians is with the victims in Las Vegas & the people of the US . ”

Many countries are puzzled by the United States ' gun culture. As has happened after previous U . S . shooting incidents , Monday ’ s attack prompted a debate on social media about whether the United States should adopt stricter gun- control laws.

“ It 's your choice America #GunControlNow or more mass murder of innocents, ” wrote one Twitter user from Britain .

Another from Australia wrote that the United States needed to “ do something. ”

Andrew Roth in Moscow , James McAuley in Paris and Jennifer Hassan in London contributed to this report .

Police emergency van at the scene of shooting.