Gunman’s girlfriend queried by FBI

LAS VEGAS: The Las Vegas gunman’s girlfriend, who is back in the United States after a week-long trip abroad, will be at the centre of the investigation into the shooting deaths of 59 people as authorities try to determine why a man with no known record of violence or crime would open fire on a concert crowd from a high-rise hotel.

Stephen Paddock’s girlfriend Marilou Danley (pic), 62, who was in the Philippines at the time of the shooting, was met by FBI agents at the airport in Los Angeles late Tuesday night, according to a law enforcement official.

The official wasn’t authorised to publicly discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Sheriff Joseph Lombardo, who has called Danley a “person of interest” in the attack, said that “we anticipate some information from her shortly” and said he is “absolutely” confident authorities will find out what set off Paddock, a 64-yearold high-stakes gambler and retired accountant who killed himself before police stormed his 32nd-floor room.

Danley first arrived in the Philippines on Sept 15, according to immigration documents there.

She departed on Sept 22 then returned three days later on a flight from Hong Kong. She was travelling on an Australian passport.

Philippines immigration bureau spokesman Antonette Mangrobang said authorities there had been working with US officials.

“From the very beginning, we have been providing them the necessary information that would aid their investigation,” Mangrobang said.

Paddock transferred US$100,000 (RM423,493) to the Philippines in the days before the shooting, a US official briefed by law enforcement but not authorised to speak publicly because of the continuing investigation said on condition of anonymity.

Investigators are still trying to trace that money and also looking into at least a dozen financial reports over the past several weeks that said Paddock gambled more than US$10,000 (RM42,349) per day, the official said.

As for what may have set Paddock off, retired FBI profiler Jim Clemente speculated that there was “some sort of major trigger in his life – a great loss, a break-up, or maybe he just found out he has a terminal disease”.

Clemente said a “psychological autopsy” may be necessary to try to establish the motive.

If the suicide didn’t destroy Paddock’s brain, experts may even find a neurological disorder or malformation, he said.

He said there could be a genetic component to the slaughter: 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 trigger, typically,” Clemente said.

Paddock had no known criminal record, and public records showed no signs of financial troubles.

Nevada’s Gaming Control Board said it will pass along records compiled on Paddock and Danley to investigators. — AP