Las Vegas
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MGM Resorts International will pay up to $800 million to victims of the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas, lawyers announced on Thursday.

Almost exactly two years ago, a gunman killed 58 people and injured hundreds from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel - owned by MGM Resorts - in the deadliest mass shooting in American history. The victims were at a country music festival at a site across from the hotel which is also owned by MGM.

Lawyers for the survivors and victims sued MGM for negligence since the shooter managed to bring in 23 assault-style weapons and thousands of rounds of ammunition and stockpile them in his hotel room over the course of a few days.

Chairman of MGM Resorts, Jim Murren, said their goal was to "resolve these matters so our community and the victims and their families can move forward in the healing process. We have always believed that prolonged litigation around these matters is in no-one's best interest."

"While nothing will be able to bring back the lives lost or undo the horrors so many suffered on that day, this settlement will provide fair compensation for thousands of victims and their families," said Robert Eglet, a lawyer for the victims. "We believe that the terms of this settlement represent the best outcome for our clients and will provide the greatest good for those impacted by these events."

The settlement is expected to cover all the lawsuits against MGM, which according to Craig Eiland, another lawyer for the victims, is up to 4,500 people and includes everything "from death cases all the way to those who had PTSD."

Last year, MGM Resorts countersued the victims in an attempt to avoid liability, citing a federal law passed after the September 11 attacks called Support Antiterrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies Act, or Safety Act. The law encouraged counterterrorism security measures by protecting companies from damages in the case of a terrorist attack. MGM claimed that the shooting was an "act of terrorism" according to a liberal interpretation of the law.

Although MGM wasn't suing the victims for money, their move sparked widespread outrage. Shortly later, MGM entered into negotiations with the plaintiffs' lawyers.

MGM stated that the settlement is not an admission of any wrongdoing.

The Route 91 music festival was being enjoyed by around 22,000 people on the Las Vegas Strip in 2017 when Stephen Paddock, 64, fired over 1,000 rounds of ammunition into the crowd. While over 422 people were injured from gunfire, over 800 were injured by the ensuing panic.

When police reached the hotel room, Paddock had stopped firing and had killed himself, surrounded by 23 weapons. His motive for the attack is unknown.