Hilary Swift / The New York Times
Pedestrians take photos of the broken windows on the 32nd floor where a gunman fired on an outdoor concert festival Sunday at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Oct. 2, 2017. The gunman, identified as Stephen Paddock, killed at least 58 people and injured hundreds of others attending the Route 91 Harvest Festival at an outdoor venue near the hotel.
Friday, Oct. 27, 2017 | 11:21 a.m.
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Determining a motive for the man who committed one of the deadliest mass shootings in modern history continues to be an exasperating task for investigators, who have interviewed many of Stephen Paddock’s family members and friends, and examined his travel, financial and health history but have yet to find anything that points to what drove him to kill 58 people at a concert in Las Vegas on Oct. 1.
New information emerged this week that adds to the complexity of the case. Paddock apparently removed the hard drive from at least one computer found in his room at Mandalay Bay, according to a law enforcement official.
Additionally, housekeepers visited Paddock’s room, where he had fired on the crowd below, more than once in the days before the shooting, but did not notice any sign of his large stockpile of weapons. He also ordered room service at least once, according to people with knowledge of the security response inside the hotel.
Paddock’s activities at the hotel have been carefully tracked. Paddock was a “lifetime winner” at MGM Resorts properties, which include the Mandalay Bay. The term refers to gamblers who have won more money than they have lost over the years, raising doubts about whether Paddock had any grievance against the hotel. He also gambled during his stay the weekend of the shooting.
Over the last year, Paddock traveled widely to buy his large cache of guns — more than two dozen were discovered in his room and more were at his home in Mesquite. Investigators have said that they were purchased legally and gunstore owners said they saw no warning signs from Paddock.
Suspects in mass shootings have typically left behind long trails to justify their actions, writing manifestoes or posting on social media. But Paddock did not appear to do so, leaving investigators from the FBI to pore over his computers and cellphones in the bureau’s lab in Quantico, Virginia, for weeks.
Examining suspects’ computers and phone has become an essential part of criminal investigations, allowing law enforcement to retrace their steps, track their communications and identify their motives and possible accomplices. ABC News first reported that Paddock’s hard drive was missing from a computer on Wednesday.
After the massacre last year at a nightclub in Orlando, Florida, the electronic trail left by the gunman, Omar Mateen, who declared allegiance to the Islamic State during the attack and then killed himself, helped establish how he had become radicalized and planned for the attack. The government has cited that evidence in the pending criminal case against his widow, Noor Salman, who prosecutors contend knew of his plans and lied to investigators after the killings.
The search for electronic evidence has led in unexpected directions, sometimes entangling people who were not directly involved in the crimes. In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing, friends of one of the bombers were convicted and sent to prison for discarding his laptop and other evidence to keep it away from investigators, and lying to federal agents about it.
After a mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, in 2015, the FBI said that it was crucial for agents to examine the iPhone used by one of the suspects, and tried to force Apple to help the bureau unlock the device. Eventually, the FBI said it was able to retrieve data from the phone without Apple’s help.
