Motive for Las Vegas concert massacre baffles investigators

[webfact]

Motive for Las Vegas concert massacre baffles investigators

By Sharon Bernstein and Alexandria Sage

 

The site of the Route 91 music festival mass shooting is seen outside the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. October 2, 2017. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson

 

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Law enforcement officials puzzled on Tuesday over what motivated a retiree with no criminal record to assemble an arsenal in a high-rise Las Vegas hotel and rain gunfire onto a outdoor concert for nine minutes, killing at least 59 people.

 

The gunman, identified as Stephen Paddock, ended Sunday night's shooting spree, the deadliest in modern U.S. history, by killing himself. He left an arsenal of 49 guns but no clear clues as to why he staged the attack on a crowd of 20,000 from a 32nd-floor window of the Mandalay Bay hotel. More than 500 people were injured, some trampled.

 

Paddock fired on the crowd for nine minutes, Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo told reporters on Tuesday, adding that investigators have identified all but three of the victims.

 

Federal, state and local investigators have found no evidence that Paddock, 64, had even incidental contacts with foreign or domestic extremist groups, and reviews of his history show no underlying pattern of lawbreaking or hate speech, a senior U.S. homeland security official said on Tuesday.

 

"We cannot even rule out mental illness or some form of brain damage, although there's no evidence of that, either," the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the probe.

 

Paddock had set up multiple cameras around the hotel room from which he launched his attack, Lombardo said.

Paddock's brother, Eric, has described himself as mystified by the attack.

 

"It just makes less sense the more we use any kind of reason to figure it out," Eric Paddock said in a text message on Tuesday. "I will bet any amount of money that they will not find any link to anything ... he did this completely by himself."

 

He said the family did not plan to hold a funeral for his brother, who was not religious, saying it could attract unwanted attention. He described his brother as a financially well-off enthusiast of video poker and cruises, with no history of mental health issues.

 

President Donald Trump told reporters on Tuesday that Paddock had been "a sick man, a demented man."

 

Police said they had no other suspects.

 

Lombardo said investigators wanted to talk with Paddock's girlfriend and live-in companion, Marilou Danley, who he said is in the Philippines.

 

"We anticipate some information from her shortly," Lombardo said.

 

The closest Paddock appeared to have ever come to a brush with the law was a traffic infraction, authorities said.

 

GUN DEBATE STIRRED

 

The attack stirred the fractious debate about gun ownership in the United States, which is protected by the Second Amendment of the Constitution, and about how much that right should be subject to controls.

 

Sunday's shooting followed the massacre of 26 young children and educators in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012, and the slaying of 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando last year. The latter attack was previously the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

 

Democrats reiterated what is generally the party's stance, that legislative action is needed to reduce mass shootings. Republicans, who control the White House and both chambers of Congress, argue that restrictions on lawful gun ownership cannot deter criminal behaviour.

 

"We'll be talking about gun laws as time goes by," said Trump, who strongly supported gun rights during his presidential campaign.

 

U.S. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer urged Trump to bring together both major parties to devise a solution to gun violence.

 

"I am requesting the president to call us together, Democrats and Republicans, to come up with a reasonable solution," Schumer told journalists.

 

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said it was too soon after the attack to discuss legislative solutions to gun violence.

 

"It's particularly inappropriate to politicize an event like this, which just happened in the last day and a half," McConnell told journalists.

 

ATYPICAL KILLER

 

Paddock seemed unlike the troubled, angry young men who experts said have come to embody the mass-shooter profile in the United States.

 

Public records on Paddock point to an itinerant existence across the U.S. West and Southeast, including stints as an apartment manager and aerospace industry worker. He appeared to be settling in to a quiet life when he bought a home in a Nevada retirement community a few years ago.

 

Police said they found 23 guns in Paddock's suite at the Mandalay Bay hotel. They found another 19 firearms, explosives and thousands of rounds of ammunition at his home in Mesquite, Nevada, 90 miles (145 km) northeast of Las Vegas.

 

Another seven guns were found at a property associated with Paddock in Reno.

 

A search of his car turned up a supply of ammonium nitrate, a fertilizer that can be formed into explosives and was used in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing of a federal office building that killed 168 people, Lombardo said.

 

Chris Sullivan, the owner of Mesquite's Guns & Guitars shop, issued a statement confirming that Paddock was a customer who cleared background checks and said his business was cooperating with investigators.

 

(Additional reporting by Lisa Girion in Las Vegas, Jonathan Allen and Frank McGurty in New York, John Walcott, Susan Cornwell, Doina Chiacu and Jeff Mason in Washington, Bernie Woodall in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Jon Herskovitz in Austin, Texas and Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Writing by Steve Gorman and Scott Malone; Editing by Paul Tait, Frances Kerry and Jonathan Oatis)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-10-04

[steven100]

just another nutter on the loose .....  the world has many.

[julietx]

Stephen was having a bad hair day

[inThailand]

Hatred of country And western music

Or

gambling loses

[Scott]

I don't know if they will ever find a motive, in the traditional sense of motive.   This sounds like someone who had decided to die and decided to go out in a spectacular fashion.   Any clues into what triggered (pardon the pun) episode may lie with his girl friend or through a thorough autopsy, including a close look for any diseases.

 

He had apparently wired quite a bit of money to the Philippines.   I wonder if this was for the girl friend to build a house or something on that order, to resettle and retire there.  

 

I am sure that forensic psychologists will be spending a lot of time unraveling this guy and just where the seed was planted.   At 64, it not only took planning, but a lot of work and energy -- something you don't usually see the elderly putting into negative activities.  

 

[lannarebirth]

All that can be said for certain is that leaders and their sheep, on both sides of the political divide are praying they discover he was a member of the opposite party. Both knowing he could just as easily be from their own.

[FreddieRoyle]

30 minutes ago, Scott said:

I don't know if they will ever find a motive, in the traditional sense of motive.   This sounds like someone who had decided to die and decided to go out in a spectacular fashion.   Any clues into what triggered (pardon the pun) episode may lie with his girl friend or through a thorough autopsy, including a close look for any diseases.

 

He had apparently wired quite a bit of money to the Philippines.   I wonder if this was for the girl friend to build a house or something on that order, to resettle and retire there.  

 

I am sure that forensic psychologists will be spending a lot of time unraveling this guy and just where the seed was planted.   At 64, it not only took planning, but a lot of work and energy -- something you don't usually see the elderly putting into negative activities.  

 

 He left a note, it can be seen clear as day in the suicide photos. The gunman filmed the whole thing from his room. The note is on the small table near to where the body was lying - I did not see the contents of the note clarified as yet - hopefully this will shed light on his motive. 

 Apologies if the source for this photo is not approved on this forum - but I believe it to be a true and unedited photograph. There are several  photos available  of the scene in his room- many too graphic to post. Looks genuine.

 

Edited October 4, 2017 by Scott
No source

[Scott]

1 minute ago, lannarebirth said:

All that can be said for certain is that leaders and their sheep, on both sides of the political divide are praying they discover he was a member of the opposite party. Both knowing he could just as easily be from their own.

Although that sort of thinking is helpful to those who wish to paint everything as black or white, it will not answer the important questions.   I don't think that Republicans are any more likely to be mass murderers than Democrats, or Catholics are more likely than Lutherans.  

 

It's somehow satisfying if we can find something that makes him one of "them', rather than one of 'us', but the point is this is a guy who managed to stay out of trouble for 64 years.  

 

[darksidedog]

Knowing what set him off is one thing, but until there are better restrictions on purchasing guns, especially automatic weapons, we can expect to see it happen again and again, as it has so many times before.

[Scott]

Sorry, but photos must be from credible, approved sources.  

[Techno Viking]

2 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

Knowing what set him off is one thing, but until there are better restrictions on purchasing guns, especially automatic weapons, we can expect to see it happen again and again, as it has so many times before.

 

AR-15's aint full auto, but the ATF did approve bumpstocks which makes em full auto !!

[lannarebirth]

7 minutes ago, Scott said:

Although that sort of thinking is helpful to those who wish to paint everything as black or white, it will not answer the important questions.   I don't think that Republicans are any more likely to be mass murderers than Democrats, or Catholics are more likely than Lutherans.  

 

It's somehow satisfying if we can find something that makes him one of "them', rather than one of 'us', but the point is this is a guy who managed to stay out of trouble for 64 years.  

 

 

Well obviously we're talking about fringe elements, but it is the fringe that have been given the most attention by both parties. The fringe has become their "core". Everybody in the middle is just following their own economic interests or can't embrace what either party stands for any more with no particular allegiance to party as "the party" is not what they were when they joined the party.

 

Law enforcement has said in a press conference that the motive will be known sometime in the next 48 hours. That means they already know the motive and they're running down leads before divulging too much.

[meatboy]

investigators cant work out his motive, he didn't need one,he owned over 40guns.

[steven100]

he's obviously wanted to go out in a blaze of glory .....

[Techno Viking]

Just now, steven100 said:

he's obviously wanted to go out in a blaze of glory .....

  wanted to one up his father !

[Boon Mee]

That hundred ? thousand dollars wired to the PI by the killer last week looks mighty suspicious. 

[inThailand]

Or just executing his will prematurely knowing the end is near?

[Berkshire]

1 hour ago, Scott said:

It's somehow satisfying if we can find something that makes him one of "them', rather than one of 'us', but the point is this is a guy who managed to stay out of trouble for 64 years.  

 

 

This is what makes it impossible to prevent.  People are always talking up "mental illness" or "criminal record" or "online rage" or "jihadist connections" or some other profile of a mass killer.  This guy defies all.  And there are many like him, i.e., just some "normal" guy.  Wonder how we can prevent a future occurrence or minimize the damage...hmmmm. 

[maximillian]

39 minutes ago, meatboy said:

investigators cant work out his motive, he didn't need one,he owned over 40guns.

 

Imagine, if someone has that many guns, he might have the wish to use them.

Like Trump said: "If we have nuclear weapons why can't we use them ?"

 

>>>Mr Trump, the Republican nominee, was said to have posed the question during an hour-long briefing on foreign affairs, saying: "If we have nuclear weapons why can't we use them?"

The claim was made by Joe Scarborough, a former Republican congressman, and high profile political

talk show host on US television.<<<

 

So sorry for the US and the whole world. Too many maniacs, too many weapons.

 

 

 

[jak2002003]

America... still like the wild west.

 

There will be people saying the guy was possessed by demons, and the gun lovers saying that it would not have happened if all the people at the concert were given free guns when they entered (so they could protect themselves). 

 

 

[Stargeezr]

It is all a guessing game, but for sure the guy was extremely bothered by something to plan and carry out all these killings. Must have taken  a few trips to get all the guns and ammo and cameras etc into his room.  Guess Las Vegas will  be affected by this for a while. It will certainly affect the families of all of the people injured and killed.

Geezer

[Stargeezr]

Unlike the Premier of Alberta  I wish to pass on my condolences to all the families of all the victems who were killed by this man. The premier was only mentioning the Albertans and Canadians.     Just like an inward thinking politician, to only think of her own province and country.

Geezer

 

[meatboy]

24 minutes ago, maximillian said:

 

Imagine, if someone has that many guns, he might have the wish to use them.

Like Trump said: "If we have nuclear weapons why can't we use them ?"

 

>>>Mr Trump, the Republican nominee, was said to have posed the question during an hour-long briefing on foreign affairs, saying: "If we have nuclear weapons why can't we use them?"

The claim was made by Joe Scarborough, a former Republican congressman, and high profile political

talk show host on US television.<<<

 

So sorry for the US and the whole world. Too many maniacs, too many weapons.

 

 

 

you have got to ask yourself,HOW can someone buy over 40 guns,thousands of rounds of armo,and just reading he also purchased a devise for faster shooting.yet no red flag.is this the norm.in america

[Credo]

50 minutes ago, Boon Mee said:

That hundred ? thousand dollars wired to the PI by the killer last week looks mighty suspicious. 

It looks about as suspicious as the hundreds of thousands of dollars that get sent to people upcountry here in Thailand by foreigners.   

[Techno Viking]

1 minute ago, meatboy said:

you have got to ask yourself,HOW can someone buy over 40 guns,thousands of rounds of armo,and just reading he also purchased a devise for faster shooting.yet no red flag.is this the norm.in america

 

 

proly amassed the collection over time and the bumpstock is legal to purchase.

[fxe1200]

What really puzzles me, that, according to a witness, a woman inside the concert hall said: "You are all going to die." That happened 45 minutes before the shooting. Who was that woman? How did she know? Allegedly the shooter(s) have carried 23 weapons and masses of ammunition into the hotel. This must have been recorded by the hundreds of CCTVs in that place. Any of these recordings, have yet not been published. The preliminary behaving of the shooter showed zero unusual acting. His act came out of the blue. I would like to see more unedited evidence. This case, though still in its early stages, reminds me of the shooting of John F. Kennedy. The still classified documents are to be released this year, 50 years later. That is the time frame for the world to finally see the truth.

Edited October 4, 2017 by fxe1200

[inThailand]

11 minutes ago, Stargrazer9889 said:

Unlike the Premier of Alberta  I wish to pass on my condolences to all the families of all the victems who were killed by this man. The premier was only mentioning the Albertans and Canadians.     Just like an inward thinking politician, to only think of her own province and country.

Geezer

 

 

Politicians love their voters! Screw all others!

[toofarnorth]

There has to be a motive for this , nothing to do with all the ammo , how many guns , money sent to a lady in the 'pines.  However ...........like buddy Rich I too hate C & W music . Shoot the guys doing this stuff sure but not innocent bystanders.

[ilostmypassword]

2 hours ago, Boon Mee said:

That hundred ? thousand dollars wired to the PI by the killer last week looks mighty suspicious. 

Sure does. It was wired to his girlfriend's account in the Philippines.  Very sinister. And in an even more sinister move, she is voluntarily returning to the US and has already boarded the flight back.Clearly this was an Isis plot.

 

[boomerangutang]

4 hours ago, Techno Viking said:

AR-15's aint full auto, but the ATF did approve bumpstocks which makes em full auto !!

 

Whomever approved of bump stock and other 'upgrades' to military-grade weapons for civilians, should be hauled off to court as accomplices in the slaughter.  I jest not.  If I supply bottles of poison to a person who I suspect is going to poison the water supply of a community, then I too should be held responsible for the damages which ensue.

 

3 hours ago, steven100 said:

he's obviously wanted to go out in a blaze of glory .....

 

.... a blaze of inglorious mess of other peoples' guts, shredded bones, brain pieces, bodily fluids splattered in all directions.   No glory whatsoever.