Metro Police say a gunman who opened fire on a Las Vegas Strip concert last year had a “troubled mind,” but they are closing their investigation without determining a motive for the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
“Without a manifesto or even a note to answer questions, the totality of the investigation that has been gathered leaves us to only make an educated guess as to the motives of Stephen Paddock,” Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said. “Today, it’s still incredibly difficult to try to comprehend this senseless act of violence.”
Paddock, a high-stakes gambler, smuggled some two dozen guns into a hotel room on the Strip, opening fire from the 32nd floor onto a country music concert across the street, police said. A total of 58 people were killed and more than 800 injured in the Oct. 1 massacre.
Paddock killed himself before officers blasted their way into his room, police said.
Although there were signs Paddock had a “troubled mind,” there wasn’t anything that would have prompted anyone to alert police, Lombardo said.
“By all accounts, Stephen Paddock was an unremarkable man,” Lombardo said as he presented a 186-page final report on the case. “His movements leading up to October 1st didn’t raise any suspicion.”
Lombardo said there was no evidence anyone else was involved in the shooting.
In January, Metro released a preliminary report on the investigation, which covered Paddock’s actions in the days leading up to the shooting.
The report released today provides a detailed narrative, which includes summaries of interviews with Paddock’s family, his doctor and Strip employees.
It also details a firearms and ammunition examination conducted by the FBI, as well as Paddock’s financial summary. Lombardo said Paddock’s gambling losses over the last year could have played a role in the shooting.
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