The Las Vegas shooter had 42 high-capacity guns
Police found 23 guns in the Mandalay Bay hotel room from which Stephen Paddock fatally shot 59 people and injured 515 Sunday night. Another 19 guns were found at his home in Mesquita, Nevada. This was disclosed in the latest update on the event by the Las Vegas Assistant Sheriff Todd R. Fasulo early Tuesday, Oct. 3.
Among the loaded guns and ammunition found in his hotel room were high-powered rifles capable of penetrating police armor, as well as hand guns. The toll of tragedies would have been higher had Paddock lived long enough to use his entire arsenal.
The Islamic State has meanwhile reinforced its earlier claim of responsibility for the atrocity with another communiqué, which named Stephen Paddock “Abu Abdul Bar Al-Amrekini” and said he had carried out surveillance of the concert arena opposite the hotel before opening fire on the crowd.
The first ISIS notice claimed that he had converted to Islam some months earlier. While an official US spokesman stressed there was no indication at this time of Paddock’s affiliation to any international terrorist organization, overnight Monday various Middle East sources said he had been in contact with certain quarters in the region, and claimed the FBI had photos recording his visits. No specific country was named in these reports.
DEBKAfile reported Monday:
The Islamic State’s media outlet has just claimed that Stephen Paddock murdered 50 people and injured more than 400 as one of its “soldiers.” This is not verified by any other source.
Until a few minutes ago, everyone was asking what diabolical impulse drove Stephen Paddock, an American aged 64 from Mesquite, Nevada perpetrate one of the most horrific and pointless shooting atrocities in American history? It was planned well in advance down to the last detail. The picture pieced together by police and FBI investigators produced details, but no answers – until the ISIS claim, which remains to be verified.
They knew that planning over a period of time and careful foresight went into the deadly crime.
Three days earlier, Paddock took up residence in a room or suite on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort. Hotel. The windows overlooked the country music concert scheduled for Sunday night with a mass audience of 22,000 including many visitors from out of town. He had therefore given himself enough time to take stock of the scene.
He had collected 10 high-powered long-range automatic rifles in his room, along with a mountain of ammunition, enough to keep on shooting for 20 minutes by alternating the guns. He must have knocked out two windows first.
The performers who were on their last song scrambled and the screaming audience began fleeing in a stampede in all directions. Some were shot, others trampled.
The casualty toll has reached 50 dead and 400 injured, including police officers, but those figures are provisional and may still rise.
He also had two cameras ready to forewarn him when law enforcement officers were closing in. When the SWAT team was near the room, he did not wait to be cornered, but turned a gun on himself.
The Las Vegas Sheriff Joseph Lombardo quickly offered assurances that after the primary suspect was down, there was no further threat, since he was a “lone wolf.” Nonetheless, he took the precaution of shutting down the entire Las Vegas Strip.
How was this multiple killer able to assemble his deadly arsenal in a hotel room undetected by staff or fellow guests? Did he have visitors, or receive phone calls?
High hopes were pinned on his “roommate,” Asian-American Marilou Danley, aged 62, for leads to Paddock’s state of mind and contacts as insights to his motivation. She faces rigorous questioning if and when she returns home from an overseas trip.
The FBI has appealed to members of the audience to come forward with any scraps of information they have obtained, especially photos, videos and messages on social media, hope to find answers by processing this mass of raw data.
President Donald Trump delivered a special message of support to the bereaved and the wounded who suffered from an “act of pure evil.” He thanked the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department for their professionalism and the first responders for their selfless actions to save many lives. “We are all joined together in shock and grief.
The president ordered the American flag to be lowered to half mast in morning.
As to how the shooter got the guns into his hotel room:
I travel often on business. It can get very boring when I’m away from home, so occasionally I bring my guns and go to a range for target practice. Afterwards I take my guns to my hotel room and clean them. I have taken many long weapons past the front desk, into the elevator, in full view of staff and guests, down the hall and into my room, and have never been asked about them at all.
If the shooterwanted to conceal the weapons, all he needed to do was put them in a long duffel bag, then transport them to his room on a luggage cart. There’s absolutely no way he would have been noticed.
Exactly
Curious that no one in law enforcement was ever able to direct counter fire toward the two broken out windows using patrol carbines since the shooting supposedly lasted for upwards of 20 minutes. This is evidenced by the pristine condition of all of the surrounding windows. This situation speaks volumes about the tactical utility of the “trunk rifle”, both for law enforcement and law abiding civilians…
Really dude? You are advocating suppressing fire on a shooter in a hotel room with civilians in adjacent rooms? At that altitude above the seen they would have to be hundreds of yards away, or he’d be in defilade. This is vegas, not Baghdad or falluja.
what would you suggest, returning fire against an elevated position where literally every stray shot is guaranteed to be directed towards innocent bystanders rooms?
Sorry, your suggestion is absurd, have you never served in the military?
Was he a lone wolf, patsy or the fall guy of an organization? Was there a more specific target in the audience?Suicide or killed by someone else? Who stands to win with this event? What is the motive?
The criminally insane, totally unhinged killer and ISIS are truly birds (vultures) of a feather, that flock together –
that is what extreme Islam is all about – Nothing else !!
Gun company stocks in the US all went up by a healthy margin. Sales of weapons always go up after such an event.
Murica!!!!!
There are reports that Paddock’s father was a psychopathic criminal, designated as such by the FBI. Unfortunately, such tendencies run in families, i.e. genetics. Societies who believe in law have a difficult time dealing with such personality aberrations until the innocent offspring become guilty of a crime. In hindsight, we can then say, “We should have expected it!”
PLEASE stop the advertisements from blotting out parts of your articles. VERY annoying.
this terror act will hopefully lead to better hotel security.
Horrific (as the article suggests), but not pointless…
please remove you adverts on articles it is really annoying
Have to agree with Manuel, the whole thing does not make any sense. 64 y old doofus with power rifles shooting from two positions (broken windows) non-stop for 30 mins. I’ve just read he had multiple cameras wired around hotel. He was watching for incoming police? And when the police got it, he was already dead by “self-inflicted” shots.
I’ll answer the flamers and critics- I never advocated “suppressing fire” so you might stop mischaracterizing my words for starters. However a positive target acquisition on the head or torso of an active shooter with the right precision rifle and scope? I say take that shot any time and twice on Sunday. If the angle doesn’t permit it, don’t. The idea that a competant marksman shouldn’t take a “makable” shot on an active shooter while they slaughter the innocent because “someone might get hurt” seems more irresponsible to me than what I posited, but it requires that the reader not project their own expectations of incompetance and failure onto others. Or in some cases their biases about the private ownership of the means for self defense, without which that basic human right is deprived. Just sayin’…
Former sniper here. I agree – even with an AR15 with a small scope.
Former special ops officer, I agree as well. If you can identify a source return fire in a situation like this (given of course some level of competence).
Outrage over 58 deaths, (in a country that kills 3400 unborn children a day ?) Just sounds like collateral damage, to life in a godless nation….
NOBODY DIED……..ffs
gun dealer flying around the country delivering weapons using the casino to hid his money.took weapons to hotel to sell.clients shot him and used weapons to kill concert goers and then escaped.all weapons traced back to him so will lead nowhere.
1.check all his flight plans and movements
2.find his past customers
3.was a cartel or militia buying from him.
4.how did he communicate with clients.
totally agree. fake story. paddock was a patsy.
After allegedly shooting himself in the head..the authorities removed his brain for study to see if there was a tumor or something and found “no trauma”..now people..please think about that statement from the sheriff..
nobody died…….not a single bullet hole to be seen anywhere or in anyone !! HOAX HOAX HOAX !!
hahahaha……NOBODY DIED DEBKA !! IT WAS A HOAX !! GOD YOU PEOPLE ARE DUMB AS PLANKS !!
NO GUNSHOTS FIRED……ALL OVER THE SPEAKERS……..NOT A SINGLE GUNSHOT HOLE ANYWHERE IN ANY BUILDING OR TENT THAT WAS THERE…….IT IS ANOTHER ZIONIST EXTREMIST HOAX !!