Medical groups on Monday called for restrictions on firearms following the mass shooting in Las Vegas that killed at least 58 people and wounded 515 others.

"This terrible tragedy is another reminder that we still need to address the role of gun violence in our country," Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association. "Individuals everywhere deserve laws that protect them from random acts of violence like this one."

Various medical groups for years have tried to tackle gun violence, which includes injuries, suicides and homicides, through approaches they say are similar to those used in public health campaigns such as those aimed at smoking or car crashes. Gun rights groups, however, see the position as a thinly veiled attempt to restrict gun ownership or to provide new grounds for seizing firearms.

The American Medical Association, the nation's largest doctor group, on Monday renewed its call for background checks and wait periods for gun ownership. The group first adopted a policy in 2016 calling gun violence a public health issue, shortly after the mass shootings at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando.

"Gun violence is a public health crisis, evident by the senseless loss of life and injury in Las Vegas," the group tweeted. "Thank you, brave first responders. Once again, tragedy reminds us: Action is needed to address this crisis of gun violence."

The American College of Physicians, which has labeled gun violence a public health issue for more than 20 years, specifically called for legislation that would ban the sale and ownership of automatic and semiautomatic weapons.

The American Academy of Pediatrics didn't specify which restrictions it supported in regard to gun rights, but noted that laws dictating gun ownership vary by state. In Nevada, for instance, firearms owners are not required to have licenses or register their weapons, or to pass a waiting period before buying a firearm, and there is no limit on the number of firearms a person can own.

"The American Academy of Pediatrics advocates for strong state and federal gun laws that protect children in every state of the nation. Despite the fact that these types of events have become all too common in our daily lives, we must not grow complacent in our reaction to them, and instead renew our resolve to stop them from occurring again and again," the group's CEO and executive vice president, Dr. Karen Remley, and its president, Dr. Fernando Stein, said in a joint statement.

Law enforcement identified 64-year-old Stephen Craig Paddock, of Mesquite, Nev., as the man who rained gunfire on the Route 91 Harvest country music festival from his hotel room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel at about 10:08 p.m. Sunday. Witnesses have said the shooting lasted between 10 and 20 minutes, and police say Paddock killed himself before they reached him.

Law enforcement has not reported how the gunman obtained his weapons or what type he used. More than a dozen guns were found in Paddock's room, Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said at a news conference Monday.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Monday called on House Speaker Paul Ryan to create a special commission to examine gun violence and write legislation to combat the problem. The White House appeared to leave the door open to bipartisan consensus on addressing the issue, but spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Monday that discussing gun control was premature.