As many as several dozen off-duty San Diego police officers and firefighters were in the crowd at the country music festival on the Las Vegas strip when a gunman opened fire, but none were believed injured in the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, local authorities said.
It was not immediately known exactly how many San Diego Police Department and San Diego Fire-Rescue Department employees were in attendance at the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival on Sunday night, but many were checking in this morning to report that they escaped harm, Officer Dino Delimitros and Fire Chief Brian Fennessy said.
"We're compiling a list right now," Delimitros said about 4:30 a.m. "But we don't have any hard numbers to report."
RELATED: More Than 50 People Are Dead After A Mass Shooting On Las Vegas Strip
In a tweet sent just before 5:20 a.m., SDPD Chief Shelley Zimmerman said: "Grateful off-duty (SDPD) officers who were there are OK."
We are all grieving with @LVMPD and everyone affected by this horrific attack. Grateful off-duty @SanDiegoPD officers who were there are ok https://t.co/VnthiivCar
— Shelley Zimmerman (@ChiefZimmerman) October 2, 2017
Fennessy issued a statement this morning saying, "Several of our (off- duty) firefighters are in Las Vegas. At this point we believe they are safe, but we will continue to gather information as to their status ... (San Diego) Fire-Rescue sends our condolences and prayers to all those affected by this horrific and tragic shooting."
A spokeswoman from the San Diego County Sheriff's Department said that as of 10 a.m., department officials did not believe any off-duty deputies from the region were in attendance.
The casualty toll continued to creep up this morning, with authorities in Las Vegas reporting that at least 58 people were killed and another 515 wounded. The gunman was identified as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock of Mesquite, Nevada, a city of about 17,000 residents about an hour northeast of Las Vegas off Interstate 15 near the Arizona border.
Police say Paddock, who fired from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, killed himself before SWAT officer breached his room, where he'd been staying since Thursday.
The terrorist group ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, but an FBI agent at a Las Vegas new conference said there was no known connection between the shooter and any international terrorist groups.
RELATED: President Trump Calls Las Vegas Shooting ‘Act Of Pure Evil’
One Las Vegas-area officer responding to the shooting was critically injured while another sustained minor injuries, police said. Two off-duty officers from the Las Vegas area were reportedly killed.
At least two Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department employees, two Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters, an Orange County sheriff's deputy, a Los Angeles police officer and a Newport Beach cop were wounded, according to Los Angeles-area authorities.
Jason Aldean, the singer who was on stage when the Vegas gunfire erupted, is scheduled to play a concert Saturday at the Mattress Firm Amphitheatre in Chula Vista, as well as shows Friday in Los Angeles and Sunday in Anaheim. It's unknown if those concerts will go forward as planned.
