Mapping out a massacre
BEFORE choosing Las Vegas for his killing spree, gunman Stephen Paddock scouted locations across the US, including a Chicago music festival attended by former US president Barack Obama’s daughter and Boston’s Fenway Park.
The retired accountant, 64, committed the US’s worst-ever mass shooting on Sunday night, when he rained automatic gunfire from a high-rise hotel room into a crowd at an open-air concert, killing 59 and injuring almost 500.
Investigators have not revealed a motive but have uncovered evidence Paddock booked two rooms overlooking Chicago’s Lollapalooza music festival in August.
He had also researched accommodation near Boston’s Fenway Park, home of the Red Sox baseball team, according to law enforcement officials.
About 400,000 people, including Barack and Michelle Obama’s eldest daughter Malia, attended Lollapalooza, which showcased artists including The Killers, Muse and Lorde.
Another concert by New Zealand singer Lorde was also canvassed, with Paddock booking hotel rooms at the Ogden in Las Vegas adjacent to the open-air Life is Beautiful festival from September 22-24.
Police and the FBI are also investigating whether Paddock planned a car bombing.
The chilling revelations came as new detail emerged about Paddock’s lifestyle.
A former worker at the Atlantis Casino Resort and Spa in Reno, Nevada, where Paddock frequently gambled, said he had a “God complex” and expected quick service, no matter how busy employees were.
“It was just his demeanour. It was like, ‘I’m here. Don’t cross me. Don’t look at me too long’,” said former executive host John Weinreich.
Another gambler described Paddock as “creepy”.
It was there that Paddock met his Australian partner, Marilou Danley, 62, who has been described as “a person of interest” by investigators.
Ms Danley previously worked as a high-roller hostess at the casino, about a 20-minute drive from the Reno home they shared.
They had another home in Mesquite, an hour northeast of Las Vegas. Both homes have been raided by police, who found weapons and explosives.
Ms Danley was questioned in Los Angeles on Wednesday by the FBI and is understood to be staying with her daughter Sheila Darcey Linton in Venice Beach. Ms Linton, 40, is an artist with a seven-year-old son.
Las Vegas officials yesterday began releasing the bodies of the victims to families, but warned it could be months before they learnt exactly how their loved ones died.
Clark County coroner John Fudenberg said his staff had worked day and night to notify families their loved ones had been killed.
“This has been very, very difficult,” Mr Fudenberg said.
Employees had tried to speak with up to five family members an hour in recent days, he said. The remains were slowly being released to local mortuaries.