Attorneys, experts allowed in Las Vegas Strip shooting site

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Attorneys and experts have been allowed for the first time onto the Las Vegas Strip festival grounds that became a killing field when a gunman opened fire from a high-rise hotel into an open-air country music concert a month ago.

Access was granted Tuesday, following a court hearing Monday during which a Nevada judge said representatives of defendants suing casino company MGM Resorts International could photograph and diagram the concert grounds as a record for lawsuits.

MGM Resorts said in a statement that Route 91 Harvest Festival vendors should be able to retrieve merchandise and belongings from the site in several days.

Authorities say 58 people died and nearly 550 were injured in the Oct. 1 shooting before gunman Stephen Paddock also killed himself in a 32nd floor suite at the high-rise Mandalay Bay resort.