US President Donald Trump has said it is not the time for a political debate on gun control, in the wake of the mass shooting in Las Vegas that killed 59 people and injured more than 500 others.
Asked during his return from touring hurricane damage in Puerto Rico whether such a debate would come at some point in time, Mr Trump responded, "Perhaps that will come," but added that it was "not for now."
Mr Trump was echoing comments from the leader of the Republican party in the US Senate, who said it is too soon to discuss "legislative solutions" to gun violence.
"I think it's premature to be discussing a legislative solution," Mitch McConnell told journalists.
"I think it's particularly inappropriate to politicise an event like this, which just happened in the last day and a half."
Mr McConnell's Democrat counterpart has called on Mr Trump to devise a cross-party solution to gun violence.
"I am requesting the president to call us together, Democrats and Republicans, to come up with a reasonable solution," Chuck Schumer said.
Investigators in the US are trying to establish what motivated gunman Stephen Paddock to carry out the mass shooting at a music festival.
Officials have said the death toll from Sunday night's shooting could rise as the investigation into the massacre continues.
Paddock, 64, opened fire on the Route 91 Harvest country music festival. The shooting continued, by some accounts, for about ten minutes.
Federal, state and local investigators have found no evidence that Paddock had even incidental contacts with foreign or domestic extremist groups, and reviews of his history show no underlying pattern of lawbreaking or hate speech, a senior homeland security official said.
"We cannot even rule out mental illness or some form of brain damage, although there's no evidence of that, either," the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the probe.
Paddock had set up multiple cameras around the hotel room from which he launched his attack, Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said.
Sheriff Lombardo said investigators wanted to talk with Paddock's girlfriend and live-in companion, Marilou Danley, who he said is in the Philippines.
"We anticipate some information from her shortly," the sherrif said.
He fired from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel into a crowd of 22,000 people in extended bursts of fully automatic fire, before taking his own life.
Las Vegas: Newly-released video shows the moment concert stops as people become aware of gunshots targeting audience pic.twitter.com/GFGFc3RQbI
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) October 3, 2017
Police found 23 guns in the hotel room, some of them assault-type rifles with scopes.
A search of the 64-year-old's home in a retirement community in Mesquite, Nevada, turned up a further 19 guns, some explosives and thousands of rounds of ammunition.
A search of his car turned up what police believed was bomb-making equipment.
They have obtained a warrant to search a second house connected to the gunman, in Reno.
The operation to recover all of the bodies from the scene continues, with police saying all but three victims have been identified.
A helpline has been set up locally for those seeking to locate missing loved ones, while the hospitals and medical centres are appealing for blood donations to help treat the more than 525 injured people.
Las Vegas Mayor 'overwhelmed by the generosity' of those wanting to donate blood to help victims of the attack pic.twitter.com/x2krydtI74
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) October 3, 2017
Read more:
- Details of Las Vegas shooting victims emerge
- 'The shots just kept coming' - eyewitness accounts
- In Pictures: Las Vegas vigils
- Profile: Gunman behind Las Vegas shooting
- Trump says Las Vegas shooting was an 'act of pure evil'
- Las Vegas mass shooting the deadliest in US history
The Eiffel Tower went dark last night in tribute to the victims of the attack and an attack in Marseille.
A man stabbed two young women to death outside the main train station in France's second-biggest city on Sunday.
The so-called Islamic State militant group has said it was responsible for both that attack and the shooting in Las Vegas.
IS propaganda outlet Amaq said the attacks were carried out by the group’s "soldiers". It did not provide any evidence for either claim.
However, US officials discounted that claim of responsibility, saying they believe that Paddock acted alone.
"Tonight we will turn off the Eiffel Tower from midnight in homage to the victims of the attacks in Marseille and Las Vegas," Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo wrote, adding the hashtag "we are united".
The French capital has repeatedly switched off the night-time lights on its most famous landmark to show solidarity with victims of terror attacks, from London to Kabul.
