Donald Trump open to 'talking about gun laws' after Las Vegas massacre

President Donald Trump has called the gunman who killed 59 people in Las Vegas a "very, very sick individual" and suggested he was ready to discuss gun laws "as time goes by".

Mr Trump was speaking to reporters today as he departed for a trip to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico.

He called the gunman "demented" and said "we're looking into him very seriously" and praised police in Las Vegas.

Mr Trump stressed the shooting was a tragedy.

Asked about US legislation, the president said "we'll be talking about gun laws as time goes by".

Stephen Craig Paddock, who killed 59 people and injured 527 others, was a big-spending gambler who took 23 guns into his hotel room before opening fire on crowds attending an outdoor music festival.

Paddock sprayed bullets on revellers enjoying the Route 91 Harvest Festival from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino on Las Vegas Strip.

The 64-year-old retired accountant from Mesquite, Nevada, killed himself before officers stormed Room 135 in the gold-coloured glass skyscraper.

Assistant sheriff Todd Fasulo said Paddock had 23 guns, some with scopes, in his hotel room.

Authorities found 19 more guns at his home in Mesquite, as well as explosives and thousands of rounds of ammunition.

Several pounds of ammonium nitrate, a fertiliser that can be turned into explosives such as those used in the 1995 Oklahoma bombing, were discovered in his car.

Investigators believe the shooting, the most deadly in modern US history, was a "lone wolf" attack, and say they do not have any information to lead them to suspect there were more assailants.