Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Petition seeks administrator for gunman’s assets

Stephen Paddock

Courtesy of Eric Paddock / AP

This undated photo provided by Eric Paddock shows his brother, Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock. On Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017, Stephen Paddock opened fire on the Route 91 Harvest Festival killing dozens and wounding hundreds.

The family of a California man killed in the Las Vegas shooting is asking a judge to appoint a special administrator to take control of the gunman's assets.

Attorneys for the family of 56-year-old John Phippen filed the petition in Clark County, Nevada, on Friday.

The court filing asks a judge to appoint the county's public administrator to take control of gunman Stephen Paddock's estate. The petition says that's a necessary step to allow lawsuits to be brought against Paddock's estate.

Phippen was one of 58 victims killed when Paddock opened fire from his high-rise hotel suite last Sunday. Hundreds of others were injured before Paddock took his own life.

Friends have said the father of six from Santa Clarita, California, was always willing to lend an ear — or a cold beer — to a friend in need.