New details emerge of Vegas massacre

Paddock shot security guard before spree

LAS VEGAS — The gunman who killed 58 people in the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history targeted aviation fuel tanks, stockpiled his car with explosives and had personal protection gear as part of an escape plan, the Clark County sheriff said yesterday.

Sheriff Joe Lombardo said at a news conference that they still have not pinpointed the shooter’s motive behind his decision to fire on a concert crowd of 22,000 in Las Vegas Oct. 1 from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

There’s still no evidence Stephen Craig Paddock was motivated by ideology, and there’s no evidence there was another shooter, he said. Investigators have found 200 incidents of Paddock moving through the city, and at no time was he with anyone else, Lombardo said.

Lombardo also confirmed investigators are talking with Paddock’s brother, Eric Paddock, who traveled to Las Vegas, and that they continue to speak with the shooter’s girlfriend, Marilou Danley, to get insight.

Lombardo declined to reveal what the two said, but he stated, “Every piece of information we get is one more piece of the puzzle.”

The sheriff also changed the timeline of the shooting, explaining that a security guard was shot by Paddock minutes before the killer began spraying bullets on the concert crowd below.

Previously the sheriff had said the guard’s arrival in the hallway may have caused Paddock to stop firing. He said yesterday he didn’t know what prompted Paddock to end his deadly gunfire.

The security guard was in the hotel’s hallway responding to a report of an open door when he heard drilling from Paddock’s room. Paddock, who had installed three cameras to monitor the approach to his suite, opened fire through the door, spraying 200 shots down the hall and wounding the guard, who alerted other security officials.

A few minutes later, Paddock began his killing spree.

In a newly revealed court document obtained by CNN, Stephen Paddock described himself as a nocturnal creature who bet up to $1 million each night while gambling in flip-flops and sweat pants at Las Vegas casinos, catching sleep in the day. The description of his lifestyle comes from a deposition filed as part of a civil lawsuit he filed against Cosmopolitan Hotel, where he slipped and fell in 2011.