At 10.08 pm on Sunday evening (Las Vegas time), as more than 20,000 concert goers were enjoying the Route 91 Country Music Festival on the famous Las Vegas Strip, Mr Stephen Craig Paddock, a 64 year-old from Mesquite on the Arizona and Nevada border, brutally murdered at least 59 people from hotel room #135 on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel. More than 500 people were also injured, ranging from minor to life threatening.

Initial reactions from eyewitness accounts at the concert believed the rapid-fire gunshots were actually firecrackers, until sadly, the tangible reality of America’s largest mass-casualty event, became obvious.

The Las Vegas mass shooting sits lonely atop a growing stain on America’s adherence to constitutional freedom, namely the second amendment, surpassing the Islamic State-inspired Oralndo nightclub shooting that killed 49 innocent people.

In the hours immediately following the shooting, law-enforcement officials confirmed Paddock had used 23 firearms in total in his hotel room. Upon sweeping his home, 130km north-east of Las Vegas, more than 15 further firearms were found. Weapons included AR-15-style and AK-47-style rifles as well as a large cache of ammunition, as well as the contentious bump stock, which is a clip-on device capable of transforming semi-automatic rifles into fully automatic weapons.

Clark County Sheriff, Mr Joseph Lombardo, said authorities found more ammunition and ammonium nitrate, a fertiliser that can be used to make explosives, in Paddock’s car. “This is an individual who is described as a lone wolf?—?I don’t know how it could have been prevented if we didn’t have any prior knowledge to this individual,” the Sheriff said.

The reaction from global leaders was predictably melancholy, with the President of the United States, Mr Donald Trump, taking to twitter, saying “My warmest condolences and sympathies to the victims and families of the terrible Las Vegas shooting. God bless you!”

The Prime Minister, the Hon Malcolm Turnbull MP, also took to social media, saying “Australia mourns with America tonight after shocking senseless attack in Las Vegas.”

Back from his trip to South Korea and Japan, the Opposition Leader, the Hon Bill Shorten MP, tweeted his condolences, saying “Horrifying scenes in Las Vegas. Australians holding our American friends in our hearts tonight.”

In a return to domestic politics following a whistle-stop tour promoting her new book, defeated Democratic Presidential candidate, Ms Hillary Clinton, was quick to apportion blame at the feet of the powerful lobbyist movement for guns in America, the National Rifle Association, tweeting “our grief isn’t enough. We can and must put politics aside, stand up to the NRA, and work together to try to stop this from happening again.”

The Prime Minister on Tuesday, speaking at a Naval event spruiking the Future Frigates program, said “we will continue to do everything we can to keep guns of the kind that were used by this killer in Las Vegas, off the streets”. Echoing those sentiments, the Opposition Leader told reporters on Tuesday “thank God we live in Australia, thank God we have strong gun laws, and I hope we never weaken them”.