Las Vegas shooting: Computer found in Stephen Paddock's hotel room 'missing hard drive'

Investigators are still seeking a motive for the murder of 58 people

Investigators are still seeking the motive that drove Stephen Paddock to gun down scores of people from his Las Vegas hotel room (Denise Truscello/Getty Images)

A computer found in the hotel room from which Stephen Paddock opened fire on Las Vegas concertgoers was missing its hard drive, according to ABC News.

In the wake of the deadliest mass shooting in American history, investigators have still struggled to assign a motive to Mr Paddock. Information contained on the laptop’s hard drive many have helped piece together that puzzle.

Investigators also learned Mr Paddock had purchased software used to erase hard drives but were not sure if he used it, the news network reported. In a revelation that seems to point Mr Paddock’s tactics more than his motives, investigators combing through his internet history found a search for a police tactic used to break into rooms, the Wall Street Journal reported.

A gambler who appeared to be a stranger to his neighbours, Mr Paddock amassed dozens of guns and a stockpile of ammunition before gunning down 58 people at a country music concert and injuring hundreds.

Unlike some other mass killers, Mr Paddock did not leave behind a note, manifesto or video explaining his actions.

His brother, Eric Paddock, has described the shooting as a shock, telling reporters it “makes no sense” and characterising his brother as an “intelligent” man who “took care of the people he loved”.

“My heart is destroyed, for all these people, but I can't tell you why Steve did what he did,” Eric Paddock told reporters soon after the massacre.

His girlfriend Marilou Danley expressed a similar sense of bewilderment, describing the killer as a “kind, quiet, caring man” after she returned to the United States and was questioned by the FBI.

"He never said anything to me or took any action that I was aware of that I understood in any way to be a warning that something horrible like this was going to happen,” Ms Danley said at the time.