Sheriff Joe Lombardo speaks during a news conference at Metro Police headquarters Friday, Aug. 3, 2018. Metro released their final report on the Oct. 1 mass shooting.
Published Friday, Aug. 3, 2018 | 9:17 a.m.
Updated Friday, Aug. 3, 2018 | 3:03 p.m.
Metro Police say a gunman who opened fire on a Las Vegas Strip concert last year had a “troubled mind,” but they are closing their investigation without determining a motive for the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.
“Without a manifesto or even a note to answer questions, the totality of the investigation that has been gathered leaves us to only make an educated guess as to the motives of Stephen Paddock,” Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said. “Today, it’s still incredibly difficult to try to comprehend this senseless act of violence.”
Paddock, a 68-year-old high-stakes gambler from Mesquite, smuggled some two dozen guns into a hotel room on the Strip, opening fire from the 32nd floor onto a country music concert across the street, police said. A total of 58 people were killed and 887 injured in the Oct. 1 massacre.
Paddock, who fired 1,057 rounds, killed himself before officers blasted their way into his room, police said.
Although there were signs Paddock had a “troubled mind,” there wasn’t anything that would have prompted anyone to alert police, Lombardo said.
“By all accounts, Stephen Paddock was an unremarkable man,” Lombardo said as he presented a 187-page final report on the case. “His movements leading up to October 1st didn’t raise any suspicion.”
He had no known radical ideologies or political leanings, police said. Lombardo said there was no evidence anyone else was involved in the shooting.
Paddock, a retired accountant and real estate investor, was a prolific gambler who had amassed substantial losses in the months before the shooting. Two years earlier, he had about $2.1 million in 14 separate bank accounts. At the time of his death, that had dwindled to $530,000.
Most of his losses occurred in 2017, Lombardo said, noting that Paddock’s gambling losses over the last year could have played a role in the shooting.
In the year leading up to the shooting, Paddock legally purchased 55 guns, spending close to $100,000 on firearms and related equipment.
Those who knew him described Paddock as meticulous and a narcissist who didn’t care about anyone who couldn’t help him, according to the report.
Paddock complained about illness, but when a physician suggested he could be bipolar, he shrugged it off, the report said. He had rotting teeth but refused to visit a dentist, citing allergies, the report said.
In January, Metro released a preliminary report on the investigation, which covered Paddock’s actions in the days leading up to the shooting.
The report released today provides a detailed narrative, which includes summaries of interviews with Paddock’s family, his doctor and Strip employees, as well as an autopsy report.
A psychological profile of Paddock from the FBI’s behavioral analysis unit will be released later this year, Lombardo said.
