Mass shootingFBI: No discernible motive in Las Vegas mass shooting
The shooter who perpetrated the 2017 Las Vegas massacre – the deadliest in U.S. history — was no different from many other mass shooters, in that he was apparently driven by a complex mix of developmental issues, rather than by one, overriding morive. The FBI’s report, published after a year-long FBI investigation, suggests that Stephen Paddock may have tried to emulate his father’s criminal conduct. His father was a bank robber who was once on the FBI’s most wanted list.
The FBI has not been able to find a clear motive for the murder of fifty-eight people at an outdoor country music concert in Las Vegas in 2017.
In its report, which concludes more than a year-long investoigation, the FBI says that Stephen Paddock, the 64-year-old shooter, was similar to many other mass shooters who are driven by a complex mix of developmental issues.
“There was no single or clear motivating factor behind Paddock’s attack,” the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit said.
Paddock acted alone in planning and carrying out the attack, firing more than 1,000 rounds in 11 minutes from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. He killed himself just as law enforcement officers assembled in the hallway outside his hotel room.
Almost 900 people were hurt during the 1 October 2017 attack, which was the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that law enforcement officials had long been baffled by what drove the retiree to carry out the attack.
The FBI says that Paddock may have tried to emulate his father’s criminal conduct. His father was a bank robber who was once on the FBI’s most wanted list.
The FBI said Paddock was not directed or inspired by any group and was not seeking to further any agenda. He did not leave a suicide note or a manifesto, something the agency believes he intended to do. He had no plan to escape the Mandalay Bay alive, which local law enforcement previously believed to be the case.
“Paddock took multiple, calculated steps to ensure that he could commit suicide at a time and in a manner of his choosing,” the FBI report concluded.
