Vice President Mike Pence praised the heroic response by police and the resolve of the American people at a prayer service in Las Vegas, while federal agents hauled away belongings left behind by terrified concertgoers trying to escape raining bullets from a gunman who was shooting from his high-rise hotel suite.
"It was a tragedy of unimaginable proportions," Mr Pence said as he addressed nearly 300 people at Las Vegas City Hall Saturday afternoon. "Those we lost were taken before their time, but their names and their stories will forever be etched into the hearts of the American people."
At the same time, federal agents started removing piles of backpacks, baby strollers and lawn chairs still strewn about the site of a country music festival that Stephen Paddock fired upon last Sunday night.
Investigators remain stumped about why the reclusive 64-year-old high-stakes video poker player would shoot at the crowd from his 32nd-floor Mandalay Bay hotel room, killing 58 and wounding hundreds before killing himself.
Investigators believe a note found on a nightstand in Paddock's hotel room contained a series of numbers that helped him calculate a more precise aim, accounting for the trajectory of shots being fired from that height and the distance between his room and the concert, a law enforcement official said on Saturday. The official was not authorised to discuss the details of the ongoing investigation publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
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The unity service came after dozens of people — many wearing shirts that said "Vegas Strong" — marched from Mandalay Bay to City Hall. After speeches from Mr Pence and other politicians, 58 doves were released into the air, flying in a wide arc and then disappearing into the distance as someone shouted, "God bless America!"
Las Vegas mayor Carolyn Goodman told the audience that the focus needs to remain on the victims, not "that horrific senseless animal".
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The damaged windows on the 32nd floor room that was used by the shooter in the Mandalay Hotel and the Route 91 festival venue (front) after a gunman killed more than 58 people and wounded more than 500 others when he opened fire on a country music festival in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 2, 2017. Mark Ralston / AFP -
The scene in front of the stage following a mass shooing at the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada, US. Mike Blake / Reuters -
The damaged windows on the 32nd floor room that was used by the shooter in the Mandalay Hotel after a gunman killed at least 58 people and wounded more than 500 others when he opened fire on a country music concert in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mark Ralston / AFP -
Eric Paddock brother of Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock, speaks to members of the media outside his home, on Monday, October 2, 2017, in Orlando, Florida. Paddock told the Orlando Sentinel: "We are completely dumbfounded. We can't understand what happened." John Raoux / AP Photo -
This home was owned by Stephen Paddock, who opened fire on a crowd at a country music concert on the Las Vegas Strip on Sunday. Scott Sonner / AP Photo -
The American flag is at half-staff at the White House in Washington on Monday, October 2, 2017. President Donald Trump ordered that flags be lowered at all government buildings to honour the victims of the mass shooting in Las Vegas. Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP Photo -
The Eiffel tower is seen with its lights turned off in Paris, France, on Monday, October 2, 2017. Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo said the Eiffel tower would turn off its lights Monday at midnight Paris hour to pay tribute to Las Vegas and Marseille victims. Kamil Zihnioglu / AP Photo -
The Guns & Guitars store in Mesquite, Nevada. The store's general manager Christopher Sullivan said in a statement that Stephen Paddock showed no signs of being unfit to buy guns. Paddock killed dozens and injured hundreds Sunday night when he opened fired at an outdoor country music festival in Las Vegas. Chris Carlson / AP Photo -
The Empire State Building lights, normally lit in colours, are dimmed on Monday, October 2, 2017, in New York, in sympathy for the victims of the mass shooting in Las Vegas. Kathy Willens / AP Photo -
A message on the video board reads 'Pray For Las Vegas' during a moment of silence before the Washington Redskins game against the Kansas City Chiefs at their Monday Night NFL football game at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. Larry Smith / EPA -
Police form a perimeter around the road leading to the Mandalay Hotel (background) after a gunman killed at least 50 people and wounded more than 400 others when he opened fire on a country music concert in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 2, 2017. Mark Ralston / AFP -
Police return to their vehicles after patrolling around the Mandalay Hotel where a gunman killed at least 50 people and wounded more than 200 others when he opened fire on a country music concert in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 2, 2017. Mark Ralston / AFP -
Two festivalgoers leave the area around the Mandalay Hotel. Mark Ralston / AFP -
Police personnel stand outside the home of Stephen Paddock on Monday, October 2, 2017, in Mesquite. Police identified Paddock as the gunman at a music festival on Sunday evening. Mesquite Police via AP -
A sign warns motorists heading toward Las Vegas that part of the Vegas Strip is closed, on October 2, 2017. Robyn Beck / AFP -
This undated photo provided by Eric Paddock shows his brother, Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock. Stephen Paddock opened fire on the Route 91 Harvest Festival on Sunday, October 1, 2017, killing dozens and wounding hundreds. Courtesy of Eric Paddock via AP -
This 1979 photo shows Benjamin Hoskins Paddock, the father of Stephen Paddock, the gunman who killed dozens of people and injured hundreds at a music festival in Las Vegas. The elder Paddock, who went by the name Bruce Ericksen during his time in Lane County, Oregon. He had escaped from a federal prison in Texas in 1969, following a conviction for a string of bank robberies in Arizona. Charlie Nye/The Register-Guard via AP -
Police block the street near the scene of a mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest festival on Las Vegas Boulevard in Las Vegas, Nevada. Paul Buck / EPA -
Mourners react during a candlelight vigil at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) for victims of the mass shooting in Las Vegas. Eugene Garcia / EPA -
Benjamin Hoskins Paddock, father of Stephen Paddock. The FBI wanted poster stated that Paddock's father was a serial bank robber who was 'diagnosed as psychopathic' and spent eight years on the FBI Most Wanted list after escaping prison. EPA/FBI -
Student mourners console each other during a candlelight vigil at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) for victims of the mass shooting in Las Vegas. Eugene Garcia / EPA
Lisa Rhoads-Shook, whose brother-in-law was inside the Mandalay Bay when the shooting broke out, said she wanted to attend the unity service to be part of the conversation about change.
"I'm so sad and it's not fair, really, for us to experience another avoidable tragedy. We have to acknowledge that there is no better time to talk about gun control," she said. "I don't think the Founding Fathers wanted the right to bear arms to become the right to build an arsenal in your home."
Investigators have chased 1,000 leads and examined Paddock's politics, finances, any possible radicalisation and his social behaviour — typical investigative avenues that have helped uncover the motive in past shootings. But Clark County Undersheriff Kevin McMahill said there is still no clear motive.
What officers have found is that Paddock planned his attack meticulously.
He requested an upper-floor room overlooking the festival, stockpiled 23 guns, a dozen of them modified to fire continuously like an automatic weapon, and set up cameras inside and outside his room to watch for approaching officers.
