Stephen Paddock‘s family is “dumbfounded” that the 64-year-old is suspected of killing at least 58 people and injuring over 500 in Las Vegas on Sunday night. The tragedy is the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
Authorities believe the shooter had acted alone when he opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino at a large crowd of concertgoers across the street, but are still scratching their heads in figuring out a motive.
Police said Paddock had no criminal history, aside from a minor citation, so authorities had no information on the suspect. His brother Eric told reporters that Stephen was “just a guy” and had “no political affiliation, no religious affiliation, as far as we know.”
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ISIS did claim responsibility for the attack, but officials have found no connections between the terrorist group and Paddock. An official told ABC News:
“The FBI stated there is no apparent tie to international terrorism. Perhaps ISIS is just trying to take credit.”
While the suspect doesn’t have a record, his name still might ring a bell to investigators. Eric told WFTS that their estranged father Benjamin Hoskins Paddock was a notorious bank robber who spent several years on the FBI‘s “Most Wanted Fugitives” list.
ABC News reports that a poster circulating back in 1969 describes Benjamin as “psychopathic” with “suicidal tendencies” and “should be considered armed and very dangerous.”
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That apparently turned out to be the case with Stephen, as police responding to the scene on Sunday breached the suspect’s hotel room and found that the shooter had killed himself, with a mix of 20 rifles and handguns in his hotel room. Police also found additional weapons and ammunition at the suspect’s home.
Officials believe the shooter brought the weapons into the hotel room on his own and used “a device similar to a hammer” to smash the hotel room windows between him and the music festival.
Police have also been looking to interrogate the suspect’s girlfriend Marilou Danley, who appears to have lived with Paddock about 80 miles northeast of Vegas. However, authorities do not believe the 62-year-old was involved in the shooting, as she was out of the country at the time.
More information on Paddock reveals he was a gambler who had worked as an accountant or auditor for a company that later became Lockheed Martin, one of the world’s largest defense contractors. Paddock was also a licensed hunter and private pilot.
Sounds like this guy fits the bill. The only question is: why the fuck?
[Image via ABC News/Facebook.]
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