Stephen Paddock: First photo of man believed to be Las Vegas shooter released
Paddock's brother said he had no clue why the attack occured
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Your support makes all the difference.The first photo of a man believed to be Stephen Paddock - the Las Vegas gunman who killed at least 50 people in the worst shooting in US history - has been released.
Paddock reportedly arrived in Las Vegas from his home in Mesquite Thursday, when he checked into a hotel room in the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino. He stayed there until Sunday, when he broke his 32nd floor window, and open fired on a crowd at an outdoor country music festival across the street. At least 58 people have been reported dead, and another 515 have been taken to the hospital.
Police did not immediately provide possible motives for why Paddock decided to open fire on concert goers. Paddock's body was found alongside at least eight rifles, which were not noticed by anyone working at the hotel in the days before the attack. House keeping had reportedly entered his room several times, but did not notice anything worrisome. It's not clear if he had the weapons in the room in the days leading up to the attack, or if he had moved them into his room Sunday before the shooting.
In an interview in Florida, Paddock's brother said that he had no idea why is brother would have been pushed to become the worst mass shooter in modern American history. He noted that he had helped his brother to move to Nevada several years ago and that he wasn't aware of his brother owning any assault rifles during that time. He said he was "dumbfounded" by the news that his brother had orchestrated the attack.
"There is no reason we can imagine why Stephen would do something like this," Eric Paddock said. "We have no idea how this happened. It's like an asteroid just fell on top of our family."
Paddock reportedly had a pilot licence, and had worked as an accountant before retiring. People in his 55-plus community in Mesquite appeared to not have a close relationship with Paddock, according to reporters on the ground in Mesquite. He lived there with a live-in girlfriend.
Mr Paddock, the brother, told reporters that their father had at one point made the FBI's 10 most wanted list for robbing banks. He did not note any other significant issues he was aware of that may have motivated his brother to attack.
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