The shooter of the Las Vegas attack, which is said to be one of the deadliest mass shootings in American history, has been identified as Stephen Paddock, and he had reportedly committed suicide shortly after the events of the attack. The shooter’s own brother has come out about the attack and claims that even Paddock’s family is in the dark about what really happened.
‘There is no reason we can imagine why Stephen would do something like this.’
In an interview with Daily Mail, Paddock’s brother, Eric, had said that he was unaware of his brother having any political or religious affiliation that could have lead to the attack, saying, “He was just a guy. Something happened, he snapped or something.”
Reportedly, Eric and Stephen were estranged at the time of the attack, and he emphasized that the family is just as unclear of what lead to the attack as everyone else, saying, “We know absolutely nothing, this is just, we are dumbfounded … We have absolutely no idea. Our condolences go to the victims and all their families.”
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In addition, Eric offered his sympathies for those who lost their lives in the attack, adding, “There is no reason we can imagine why Stephen would do something like this. All we can do is send our condolences to the people who died. Just no reason, no warning … As far as we knew, he had enough money to live the rest of his life in comfort.”
While Stephen had been living in Nevada, most of his family, including Eric, a retiree, lives in Florida. At this time, Eric had came out with concern over what might happen to his family in retaliation, saying, “Our family is OK, we’re sitting in here in our house hoping that everyone doesn’t attack us. My mother is 90 years old, lives down the street from me, we’re just completely dumbfounded.”
‘Right now, we believe he was the sole aggressor and the scene is static’
The attack occurred around 10 p.m. at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival, while Paddock made several shots at concertgoers from a hotel room, leaving over 50 people killed and over 200 wounded, while Jason Aldean was performing. Authorities managed to get into Paddock’s hotel room at the Mandalay Bay, and he was reportedly found to have taken his own life shortly after the attack; police also found over ten assault weapons in his possession at the hotel room. A woman identified as Marilou Danley was initially suspected to be an accomplice to Paddock, but police later concluded that she was not involved with the shooting.
At this time, police are unsure about a motive, but sources claiming to be connected to the Islamic State have claimed responsibility and that Paddock had converted months before the attack. However, the authenticity of these claims in unclear. According to FOX News, Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo established that police still do not have a clear motive, adding, “We have no idea what his belief system was. Right now, we believe he was the sole aggressor and the scene is static.” Beforehand, Paddock did not have any major offenses or corrections on his record, beyond a minor traffic violation and a lawsuit against a casino in 2014, where he claimed to have fallen.
