Las Vegas Sun

April 25, 2024

Official: Las Vegas shooter bought 1,000 tracer rounds

Mass Shooting Las Vegas

Gregory Bull / AP

On Friday, Oct. 6, 2017, Cece Navarrette places flowers at a cross for her cousin, Bailey Schweitzer, who was among those killed during the mass shooting in Las Vegas. A gunman opened fire on an outdoor music concert on Sunday, killing dozens and injuring hundreds.

A law enforcement official says Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock bought 1,000 rounds of tracer ammunition a month ago from a private seller he met at a Phoenix gun show.

The official says investigators searching the hotel room Paddock used as a sniper's perch found tracer rounds and a document with the name of the Mesa, Arizona, man who sold him the ammunition.

The official is involved in the shooting investigation and spoke anonymously because the official was not authorized to disclose case information.

Tracer bullets contain a pyrotechnic charge that illuminates the path of fired bullets so shooters can see whether their aim is correct.

The official says Paddock met the man in Phoenix on Sept. 9 and 10 and that the sale took place at the man's Mesa home.

The tracer ammunition that Paddock bought were .308-caliber and .223-caliber rounds.

The official did not know whether Paddock used tracer rounds during the attack.

The official declined to identify the seller.