EDITORIAL: Again we ask ourselves, ‘Why?’

The question we always ask — and far too often find ourselves asking — is a simple one.

Why?

That question, we suspect, was on the lips of thousands of Americans when they awoke Monday morning to news of the worst mass shooting in the history of the United States.

The numbers regarding the carnage continued to go up as the day moved on. At this writing, there were 58 deaths confirmed and more than 500 people seeking medical treatment.

According to media reports, the gunfire started shortly after 1 a.m. Eastern time. Country music star Jason Aldean had just started his performance at an open-air concert in Las Vegas, where an estimated 22,000 people were packed in for the climax to the show.

At first, reports said, those at the concert thought the popping noises they were hearing were fireworks or maybe something associated with the concert. As people started to fall, however, it became apparent that the noise was gunfire. As one might expect, panic quickly set in with the crowd. Witnesses said the shooting went on for at least 15 minutes.

Authorities say the shots were fired by a single individual they identified as Stephen Paddock, 64, of Mesquite, Nev. Paddock, firing from a 32nd-floor room where he had been staying since Thursday in the Mandalay Bay hotel a few hundred feet from the grounds of the Route 91 Harvest Festival. Paddock was found dead in the room when law enforcement broke through the door.

From what Las Vegas Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said at a news conference, Paddock had not been on the radar of local law enforcement as someone to keep an eye on. “We had no knowledge of this individual,” CNN quoted the sheriff as saying. “I don’t know how it could have been prevented.”

CNN also reported that law enforcement told the news agency that while Paddock had purchased guns in the past, including several in California, none of those appeared to have been used in the shooting. Initial reports said rifles used in the shooting were altered to function as automatic weapons.

Authorities say they have found no connection to an international terrorist group as they start intensely researching Paddock’s background in an attempt to find a motive for such a horrific murder of innocent people, one that has eclipsed the 2015 Orlando Pulse nightclub shootings as the deadliest on record. Monday, they were combing his residence and planning to search other property he owned.

While authorities had not labeled the killings an act of domestic terrorism by Monday afternoon, it’s hard to see how it could be classified as anything else. Whatever Paddock’s motivations were, his deadly rampage created terror among his victims, and also has created fear and uncertainty for others who may have been planning to join in large outdoor events in the future.

We hope there was some clue — some writing or recorded statement — to explain, however inadequately, how one person could do such a terrible thing to other innocent people. If there is a reason, then perhaps there can be developed an understanding that can lead to a way to intervene before something equally horrendous or even worse happens in the future.

These murders and this violence are sobering reminders to us. The world, as much as we would like to believe otherwise, is not a safe place. There are those who have the means and mentality to commit heinous, violent acts. Our only recourse is to look past the things that divide us and to look out for each other.