On a night of chaos and confusion, pictures from the scene of the Las Vegas shooting emerged within minutes of the start of the shooting. That’s because photographer David Becker grabbed his camera and went to work immediately.

His photos brought news readers to the heart of the chaos, and were beamed around the world, quickly recognised as some of the most powerful images from America’s deadliest mass shooting.

Mr Becker, who works for Getty Images, has given his account of the evening’s tragic events. The evening began on a normal job, as he documented the Jason Aldean concert.

“After capturing photographs of the final act of the Route 91 Harvest country music festival, I headed back to the media tent to start filing my photographs,” Mr Becker said.

“After about 5-10 minutes I heard very loud popping sounds and I went outside to see what was happening and a security guy said it was just “fire crackers”, so I went back to work. The second time I heard the popping sounds somebody said to me “it was just speakers or sound equipment” and again, I went back into the media tent and continued to work. Then the noises went again and that was when the crowd started to flee.”

Despite the automatic gunfire raining down on the crowd of thousands of fleeing music fans, Mr Becker believed the spectators were panicking at the sound of malfunctioning audio equipment. He left the media tent and stood on a table and began to shoot photos.

Music fans run for cover (David Becker/Getty) (Getty Images)

He said: “It was so dark I couldn’t really see what was happening, there were a lot of people crying, speaking on cell phones and ducking for cover. As the crowd thinned out I was able to go a little closer to try and see what was going on and take some more pictures, and I’m still thinking to myself, ‘it’s just the speakers, there is nothing going on.’”

Mr Becker described how he struggled to take good photographs in the chaotic and poorly lit conditions.

People carry a person at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after shots were fired (David Becker/Getty)

“There were groups of people helping each other everywhere and a real sense of people running for cover,” he said.

“People were fleeing, they were panicking. The gun fire was sporadic, it would stop and then more shots, then a lull and then more shots.

“I could hear people yelling at them to shut off the lights, to be quiet. People were cowering, they were very fearful for their lives. A woman tripped right in front of me, a man shielded a woman with his body before I saw them both get up and run away, a man in a wheelchair was helped to an exit.

A man in a wheelchair is taken away from the festival after gun fire was heard (David Becker/Getty)

“I was trying to capture anything that was moving and that had good lighting. That was critical, it was so dark and there was limited lighting it was really hard to get a sense of what was happening.

“At this stage I still just thought it was a speaker popping, so I was trying to capture people’s emotions and a sense of the panic that was around me.”

By the time the bullets from Stephen Paddock’s guns stopped, he had killed 59 people, along with himself, and injured hundreds more. Even as the shooting continued, Mr Becker still did not appreciate the severity of the situation until he reviewed the photos he had just taken back in the media tent.

People scramble for shelter at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after gun fire was heard (David Becker/Getty) (Getty)

“I started looking at my photographs and what I was seeing was just unbelievable,” he said. “It had been so dark outside I couldn’t see the details, I just saw a lot of people laying on the ground thinking they were playing possum, but now I could see people covered in blood and I thought, this is real.”

“When I saw the image of the woman lying on the ground covered in blood, that was when the impact of what I was experiencing hit; when I realised people were dying,” he added.

People run for cover at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival (David Becker/Getty) (Getty Images)

Back in the tent, a colleague told Mr Becker the police had issued a “code red” alert and set up a perimeter. The photographer continued to work on editing and sending off the photographs. Shortly after, he was evacuated but continued to work, covering the aftermath of the atrocity.

Reflecting on the night’s events, Mr Becker said it was “hard to comprehend” what he witnessed but that he acted on instinct.

Las Vegas shooting – in pictures Show all 15 1 /15 Las Vegas shooting – in pictures Las Vegas shooting – in pictures People scramble for shelter at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after gun fire was heard Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures People carry a person at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after shots were fired David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures People run from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after gun fire was heard David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures A handout photo released via Twitter by Eiki Hrafnsson (@EirikurH) showing concertgoers running away from the scene (C) after shots range out at the Route 91 Harvest festival on Las Vegas Boulevard EPA/Eiki Hrafnsson Las Vegas shooting – in pictures People lie on the ground at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after hearing gun fire Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures A man in a wheelchair is taken away from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after hearing gun fire David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures People stand on the street outside the Mandalay Bay hotel near the scene of the Route 91 Harvest festival on Las Vegas Boulevard EPA/Paul Buck Las Vegas shooting – in pictures FBI agents confer in front of the Tropicana hotel-casino after a mass shooting during a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus Las Vegas shooting – in pictures Las Vegas police run by a banner on the fence at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival grounds after shots were fired David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures An injured person is tended to in the intersection of Tropicana Ave. and Las Vegas Boulevard after a mass shooting at a country music festival Ethan Miller/Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures Metro Police officers pass by the front of the Tropicana hotel-casino after a mass shooting at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus Las Vegas shooting – in pictures A woman sits on a curb at the scene of a shooting outside of a music festival along the Las Vegas Strip AP/John Locher Las Vegas shooting – in pictures A cowboy hat lays in the street after shots were fired near a country music festival in Las Vegas Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures Las Vegas Metro Police and medical workers stage in the intersection of Tropicana Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard South after a mass shooting at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus Las Vegas shooting – in pictures Sheriff Joe Lombardo (2-R) speaking during a press briefing in the aftermath of the active shooter incident on Las Vegas Boulevard EPA

He said: “I was on autopilot, just doing my job capturing what was happening, which I think is important. Impactful images like these tell a story, they move people to think twice about doing anything like this, they move governments to change policies to prevent horrific acts like these happening again.