Las Vegas police release final report on massacre, with still no idea of motive

At a news conference, Sheriff Joseph Lombardo of Clark County said his team had extensive information about the perpetrator’s actions in the days before the shooting.

But, he said, “we have not been able to definitively answer the ‘why.'”

Fifty-eight people died in the attack, and the report said that 887 people suffered documented injuries. Paddock, 64, a high-stakes gambler, spent days carrying an arsenal of guns into the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino across the street from the festival, before randomly shooting concertgoers below. He then killed himself.

Paddock left no suicide note, the investigation concluded. There was no evidence he belonged to any terrorist organizations or hate groups, and he had no criminal record. While his financial assets had diminished before the attack, he was indebted to no one and had paid all his gambling debts.

The detailed report describes Paddock’s activities in the days leading up to the shooting. It also includes a minute-by-minute timeline of the event, along with interviews with his girlfriend, his mother, his siblings and his doctor, as well as staff at the hotel and emergency workers. Investigators followed 2,000 leads, watched 22,000 hours of video and examined 252,000 images.

The report said Paddock had been stockpiling weapons for about a year, and he had researched other open-air venues before settling on the country music concert. His internet searches included “biggest open air concert venues in USA” and “how crowded does Santa Monica Beach get,” among others.

In September 2017, Paddock visited the Mandalay Bay with his girlfriend, Marilou Danley.

Danley described Paddock’s behavior as “strange,” the report said. “She observed him looking out the windows which also overlooked the Las Vegas Village venue. She mentioned how he would move around the room looking at the venue from different angles and positions.”

But Friday, Lombardo said investigators found evidence of a man with a “troubled mind” but no indication he would commit such a massacre. Nothing he had done previously had attracted the attention of law enforcement.

In the report, Danley explained that she met Paddock while she was working as a high-limits casino host. At first, their relationship was romantic, but she said she noticed a decline in his affection that she believed to be linked to his health.

He had bad headaches, she said, was sensitive to chemical smells and would not shake hands with people. He often wore cotton gloves. He was not religious, she said, and would often say things like, “Your God doesn’t love me.”

In the months before the shooting, Paddock’s interest in guns intensified and packages began arriving almost daily. Danley occasionally accompanied him to the gun store or shooting range. But the report concludes that “Danley believed Paddock’s new found interest in guns was merely a hobby.”

Paddock paid for Danley to see her family in the Philippines before the attack, wiring her a total of $150,000 during the trip, which was meant to pay for a house there. Danley told investigators she was worried that Paddock was trying to set her up there before breaking up with her. They rarely spoke by phone during the trip, and Paddock became evasive every time Danley asked where he was.

On Sept. 27, Paddock asked her over email if she wanted to stay longer. “She replied she was ready to come home,” according to the report. Several days later, she was on her way to dinner with her sister in Manila when someone called to say they should return home.

When they walked into the house, Danley saw her driver’s license photo on television and learned she was a “person of interest.” On Friday, Lombardo said that Danley is not under investigation.

The report also summarizes interviews with several employees of the resort, including valets, bellmen, room service attendants and security officers. Each of the employees said there had been nothing remarkable about Paddock in the days leading up to the shooting.

A waiter at a sushi restaurant who knew Paddock by name because of his frequent visits said that less than 48 hours before the attack, he had ordered two sushi rolls and a glass of water, sitting at a table alone while watching television. He did not use his phone or speak to anyone, tipping the waiter as he left.

In the early hours after the attack, there were reports of multiple gunmen. Investigators later found no evidence that this was true. And Lombardo made a point of dismissing conspiracy theories around the attack in his news conference.

Paddock purchased all weapons and ammunition legally. “Paddock did not commit a crime until he fired the first round into the crowd,” the report states.

Just one person is being charged in connection with the case. Douglas Haig, accused of selling armor-piercing rounds to the gunman, faces federal charges of conspiracy to illegally manufacture and sell the ammunition. A report into the shooting by the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit is on schedule to be released this year.

The shooting does not meet the federal definition of a terrorist attack, Lombardo said. But he repeated a statement he has made before: “I would personally call it a terrorist act.”

The release of the report was meant to offer some closure to a city shaken by such an enormous tragedy. But at the news conference, Lombardo said he knew the danger of another massacre lingered.

“Absolutely, it could happen again,” he said. “By the grace of God it doesn’t.”

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

Las Vegas police release final report on massacre, with still no idea of motive

A 187-page report examining the Oct. 1 attack on a country music festival determined that the gunman, Stephen Paddock, acted alone.

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