New timeline raises questions on Vegas police response
LAS VEGAS — In the days since Stephen Paddock killed 58 people and wounded hundreds more during a country music festival here, most of the attention has been on the roughly 10 minutes of horror as streams of bullets rained down from his perch on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.
But new details announced by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department on Monday have now turned the focus on six key minutes before Paddock fired his first shot on the festival crowd.
The Police Department had spoken of a “very heroic” security guard Jesus Campos, who happened to be on the 32nd floor after Paddock began shooting, on Oct. 1.
It credited Campos with aiding the police and helping bystanders, after being wounded himself. In a startling shift, the department now says that Paddock had fired at the guard six minutes before he began firing on the crowd.
The announcement on Monday was the latest in a frustrating investigation that has flummoxed local and federal law enforcement, who have yet to uncover any information about the gunman’s motive.
While police officials called the adjustments “minute changes” that are common in a complex investigation, the revelation raises new questions about the authorities’ response to the shooting and why Paddock stopped firing.
MGM Resorts, which owns Mandalay Bay, contested the police department’s announcement in a statement on Tuesday, saying that the company “cannot be certain about the most recent timeline” and that “what is currently being expressed may not be accurate.”
It did not provide further details, citing the continuing investigation.