Vegas probe scours shooter’s life for motive
Investigators hunting for a clue into why a high-stakes gambler killed 58 Las Vegas concertgoers Sunday night are looking into whether he was with a prostitute days before the shooting.
His cruises all over the world and a cryptic note with numbers jotted on it found in his hotel room are also being studied, a federal official told the Associated Press.
“We still do not have a clear motive or reason why,” Clark County Undersheriff Kevin McMahill said yesterday. “We have looked at literally everything.”
The FBI announced that billboards would go up around Vegas asking anyone with information to phone 800-CALL-FBI.
Stephen Paddock, a mysterious 64-year-old retiree, rained bullets on the crowd at a country music festival Sunday night from his 32nd-floor perch. He took his own life as police were closing in.
Investigators have been trying to figure out what drove him to do it and yesterday indicated that they have peered deep into his politics, finances and any possible evidence that would indicate he had been radicalized.
All told, authorities say they are chasing 1,000 leads and pleaded with the public yesterday to help them unlock Paddock’s deadly mystery.
“If you know something, say something,” said Aaron Rouse, agent in charge of the Las Vegas FBI office. “We will not stop until we have the truth.”
McMahill told reporters that investigators reviewed hours of video from the casino, and that nothing points to the idea that Paddock had an accomplice.
A Reno car salesman gave a rare glimpse into Paddock’s mind in the months leading up to the attack. Paddock told salesman Scott Armstrong he was depressed and had relationship troubles.
“Somehow or another we ended up talking about bad relationships, and he confided that he was depressed and his life was miserable,” Armstrong said. “It just struck me as really odd that somebody would say that.”