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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 4, 2017)
Page 4 Minority & Small Business Week October 4, 2017 Deadliest Shooting in Modern US History Motive still a mystery as authorities look for clues (AP) -- Investigators trying to figure out why Stephen Paddock gunned down 59 people from his high-rise hotel suite are analyz- ing his computer and cellphone, looking at casino surveillance footage and seeking to interview his girlfriend. Nearly two days after the deadliest mass shooting in mod- ern U.S. history, what set off the 64-year-old high-rolling gambler and retired accountant remained a big question mark Tuesday, though the Las Vegas sheriff said he is confident investigators will find a motive. Paddock’s girlfriend, Marilou Danley, is considered a “person of interest” and has been speak- ing with police from the Phil- ippines, where she is traveling, Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said. “We anticipate some informa- tion from her shortly,” he said. While the probe into Pad- dock’s background included searches of two houses he owned in Nevada, some investiga- Concertgoers run over barriers and duck for cover when gunfire from a sniper perched in a nearby hotel aims his firepower at a concert venue along the Las Vegas strip on Sunday, killing 59 people and injuring more than 500. (Getty Images) tors turned their focus from the Bay hotel casino where his vic- mented evidence at the site where gunfire rained down Sunday night shooter’s perch to the festival tims fell. grounds outside the Mandalay A dozen investigators docu- and country music gave way to screams of pain and terror. “Shoes, baby strollers, chairs, sunglasses, purses. The whole field was just littered with things,” said Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt, who told The Associated Press it was like a “war zone.” ‘’There were blood- stains everywhere.” Paddock killed himself before a SWAT team blew off the door of his room on the 32nd floor. Investigators found video cameras set up inside his room and on a service cart outside it to spy anyone coming his way, Lombardo said. A hotel security guard who approached the room during the rampage was shot through the door and wounded in the leg. Paddock had 23 guns with him at the hotel, along with devic- es that can enable a rifle to fire continuously, like an automatic weapon, authorities said. Nine- teen more guns were found at his Mesquite home and seven at his Reno house. More than 500 people were injured in the rampage, some by gunfire, some during the chaot- ic escape. At least 45 patients at two hospitals remained in critical condition. All but three of the dead had been identified by Tuesday after- noon, Lombardo said. Retired FBI profiler Jim Cle- mente speculated that there was “some sort of major trigger in his life — a great loss, a breakup, or maybe he just found out he has a terminal disease.” Clemente said a “psycholog- ical autopsy” may be necessary to try to establish the motive for the attack. If the suicide didn’t destroy Paddock’s brain, experts may even find a neurological dis- order or malformation, he said. He said there could even be a genetic component to the slaugh- ter: Paddock’s father was a bank robber who was on the FBI’s most-wanted list in the 1960s and was diagnosed a psychopath. “The genetics load the gun, personality and psychology aim it, and experiences pull the trig- ger, typically,” Clemente said. Paddock had a business degree from Cal State Northridge. In the 1970s and ‘80s, he worked as a mail carrier and an IRS agent and held down an auditing job in the Defense Department, accord- ing to the government. He later worked for a defense contractor. He had no known criminal re- cord, and public records showed no signs of financial troubles, though he was said to be a big gambler. “No affiliation, no religion, no politics. He never cared about any of that stuff,” his brother, Eric Paddock, said outside his Florida home. He said he was at a loss The FBI discounted the pos- sibility of international terrorism early on, even after the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.
