Gunman specified horror suite
The Las Vegas mass murderer bought 33 guns in the past year alone — and specifically requested the hotel suite he turned into a sniper’s lair.
Stephen Paddock, 64, asked for the two-room suite overlooking the Route 91 Harvest festival when he checked into the Mandalay Bay hotel last Thursday, but it wasn’t immediately available.
He finally moved into the room — which was given to him for free because he was a highstakes gambler — on Saturday.
The next evening, he opened fire on a crowd of 22,000 country music fans, killing 58 people and injuring 489 others.
His many gun purchases didn’t raise any red flags because Nevada gun stores aren’t required to notify the feds when a customer buys multiple rifles, according to Jill Snyder, an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
“We wouldn’t get notified of the purchases of the rifles, we would only get notified if there was a multiple sale, which would be two or more handguns in an individual purchase,” she told “CBS This Morning.”
Paddock’s motive for the mass murder remained a mystery Wednesday.
As the feds questioned his girlfriend, Marilou Danley, Nevada gambling regulators were analyzing records related to the killer, including whether he had any disputes as a casino patron.
Federal agents have been baffled by the case.
“This individual and this attack didn’t leave the sort of immediately accessible thumbprints that you find on some mass casualty attacks,” FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe told CNBC. “We look for actual indicators of affiliation, of motive, of intent, and so far we’re not there. We don’t have those sort of indicators.”
Eric Paddock said Wednesday his brother was allergic to certain chemicals — and often wore gardening gloves around so he wouldn’t get rashes.
He said Stephen — who had been prescribed the anti-anxiety medication diazepam in June — was also allergic to certain medications and couldn’t renew his pilot’s license because he wasn’t able to take pills to reduce his blood pressure.