Posted on 10/02/2017 10:14:05 AM PDT by Drew68
The suspected gunman behind the Las Vegas massacre made several large gambling transactions in recent weeks, according to law enforcement officials.
The transactions in Las Vegas by Stephen Paddock were in the tens of thousands, the officials said.
It was not immediately clear if those transactions were losses or wins.
Paddock's brothers were stunned to learn Monday that their sibling was the suspected perpetrator of the largest mass shooting in modern American history.
Eric Paddock of Orlando, Florida, said he had "no idea" why his 64-year-old brother committed the shooting.
“Mars just fell into the earth,” he told NBC News. “We’re completely dumbfounded.”
Eric Paddock said his brother was retired and was "just a guy" who went to the hotels, gambled, and went to shows.
Stephen Paddock's brother Bruce Paddock, who lives in California, said his family grew up in Sun Valley, California. Their father, Benjamin Paddock, was on the FBI's Top Ten Most Wanted list for robbing banks.
At least 58 people were killed when Paddock opened fire into a crowd of approximately 22,000 at an outdoor country music festival from the 32nd floor of Las Vegas' Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on Sunday night, police said.
Police said more than 500 people had been taken to hospitals.
Bruce, who said he hadn't talked to Stephen, who lived in Mesquite, Nevada, about 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas, in approximately 10 years, said his brother made money through apartment buildings, which he owned and managed with his mother, who lives in Florida.
"I don't know how he could stoop to this low point, hurting someone else," Bruce said.
He added that his brother was a laid-back, "never-in-a-hurry" type of guy. Bruce said his brother was a law-abiding citizen who never did anything violent prior to the shooting.
The shooting is not believed to be connected to international terrorism, NBC News has learned.
The suspect was a licensed pilot, who owned two planes. He also had a hunting license from Alaska.
It is believed he lived in a retirement community in Mesquite.
Public records show Stephen Paddock lived a relatively transient life, moving to 27 different residences between California, Texas and Nevada.
Between 1985 and 1988, he worked for a predecessor company of Lockheed Martin. Public records show he was employed as an "internal auditor."
"We’re cooperating with authorities to answer questions they may have about Mr. Paddock and his time with the company," the company said in a statement.
Police responded to reports of the shooting just after 10 p.m. (1 a.m. ET) in the Mandalay Bay Resort, Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said. Lombardo said Paddock shot and killed himself before police could reach him.
It is still not known what kind of weapon Paddock used, but officials said more than 10 rifles were recovered from his hotel room.
Officials were searching for Marilou Danley, whom they identified as a companion of the suspect, Lombardo said.
Just before 7 a.m. ET, police tweeted that they had "located the female person of interest." Lombardo said Danley was located out of the country and was not believed to be involved in the shooting. He added that Paddock was utilizing some of her identification.
Authorities described having found several weapons in Paddock's hotel room after the shooting.
Of course, it’s sarcasm.
Now Fox is reporting that Paddock was a multi millionaire so we need to believe he just got a wild hare and decided to destroy his life with a mass shooting. My BS detector is starting to vibrate.
Gay marriage is legal stateside. Doesn’t mean that devout Christians are gay. Muslim fanatics don’t generally tend to be multi-decade degenerate gamblers, in the same way that devout Christians don’t tend to be gay.
So true. This was a well thought out and organized operation, including multiple weapons, and this was not a hastily put together operation.
That “snap” lasted a terribly long time to accomplish this in the manner he did.
Is it possible whoever did this had access to the guest list had several "perfect" rooms on the corner picked out and at the last moment this guy was a target of opportunity himself as he was occupying one of the "perfect" rooms? Perhaps they broke in, grabbed this guy, did the deed, then executed him as they escaped thereby leaving lots of false trails and phony narratives?
There doesn't seem anything in his background so far which would point to this mass murder. Certainly a bad gambling habit and having a lot of money wouldn't do it.
I would think the hotel and other surveillance cameras would be able to confirm or deny something like this quickly?
I'm sure the FBI is on it, right?
I stand corrected.
I have no idea if that is, or even could be, the case. And I’m not suggesting any of that. It’s just that the crazy guy who suddenly snapped explanation is almost completely ridiculous on its face.
I assume if the father was a liberal elite the FBI would help cover up his crimes.
I mean the FBI works for corrupt democrats, right?
From a closer examination, it appears that the UAE has zero casinos, although illegal gambling does take place over races, and cruise ships with gambling facilities are allowed to dock at the country’s ports. Online betting via overseas portals is also available, meaning the government may not have banned those URL’s.
bkmk
He was on that list 50 plus years ago.
Paddock was 7 years old at the time.
I heard an actual recording of him talking and he said “asteroid,” not Mars.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.