Who is this man who staged a massacre in Las Vegas

64-year-old Stephen Paddock, a resident of Mesquite, Nevada, 2 October shot participants of the country music festival in Las Vegas, killing at least 59 people, still 527 injured. After that, the shooter killed himself.

We have collected all the information known about Paddock as of the morning of October 3.

He knew much more about weapons.

Paddock was a veteran of the US Army, although there is no information about his participation in military operations. At the same time, during the shooting in Las Vegas, he used the weapon professionally - at full power.

Only people with certain knowledge can start this mode, writes The Guardian, referring to the words of the recently retired agent of the Bureau for the Control of Alcohol and Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Thomas Ahern:

“There are ways to convert a semi-automatic rifle to a fully automatic rifle so that it fires like a machine gun.

These conversion kits can be found on the market, but a person must have certain skills in order to turn a semi-automatic rifle into a fully automatic rifle ”,

Ahern added that the automatic weapon has no sporting purpose, it is exclusively a “weapon of war”.

According to LA Timesin the room arrow in the hotel Mandalay Bay, from which he fired at people, 23 of various types of weapons was found, most of which are “military type rifles”, and a device was found that allows firing a burst from a rifle.

This device, in fact, does not turn a rifle into an automatic weapon, but it allows to significantly reduce the time between trigger presses and, respectively, bullets, which in fact makes it possible to shoot the queue. And this device is legal in the USA.

Police check the rest of the weapons found in the room, law enforcement does not exclude that part of the arsenal could be converted into a fully automatic weapon.

Video from the number of killers published edition The New York Post.

The footage shows a rifle from which the criminal shot, as well as fragments of a door that the police blew up during a special operation.

I bought the weapon legally; I brought it to the hotel in batches.

Paddock had four rifles. Daniel Defense DDM4, three FN-15 and other brand rifles Sig sauer.

A man bought a weapon legally, having passed all the necessary checks.

At least 6 of the weapons discovered were purchased from the same store - Cabela's in Verdi, Nevada.

Several other weapons were acquired in Discount Firearms and Ammo in Las Vegas. Paddock, who lived in Mesquite, Nevada, also bought weapons at a local store. Guns and Guitars. According to the owner, he always chose the “quality and powerful” weapon.

He brought all these weapons to his room in bags gradually over several days - he checked into the hotel on September 28.

He also installed a camera in the room, apparently to shoot a massacre; several cameras were also installed in the corridor to monitor the police movement. Daily Mail.

In the house and the car arrow was also a huge arsenal of weapons. 19 units of different firearms, ammunition and explosives, writes CNN.

Stephen's brother Erik said that he knew that his brother had a weapon, but he didn’t know how much he was talking about, nor did he know that these were military-type rifles, he only saw pistols.

Photo: video frame

At the same time, Eric said that he knew his brother badly, because they lived hundreds of miles apart, rarely met and talked.

Player, Millionaire, Pilot

Paddock moved to Las Vegas in 2016, and, according to his friends, he was very fond of gambling, which is exactly what he did in this city, sometimes he could play all night.

According to his brother Eric, Stephen was a successful real estate investor who owned several apartments and houses with a total value of millions of dollars. They are already checked by investigators.

Some residents of these houses said that they had never seen Paddock, but met his girlfriend, Merilou Donley. She was not in the city at the time of the shooting, and police believe that the woman knew nothing about the impending crime.

Paddock was married twice and divorced. His first marriage lasted two years, from 1977 to 1979 a year. He married again in the 1985 year and divorced again in the 1990 year.

He had no children, so the man traveled extensively: on airplanes, went on cruises. He had a pilot's license, but he did not pass the medical certification necessary to fly legally. At the same time he owned two private jets.

Son of a bank robber

Stephen Paddock's father was a bank robber. According to the FBI, Benjamin Hoskins Paddock was on the list of wanted persons from 10 June 1969 of the year to 5 of May 1977 of the year. He escaped from prison in 1969 and was on the run until 1978 when he was arrested in Oregon.

According to the brother of the gunman, Eric, his children hardly knew him, he was either in prison or hiding from the police.

Islam and terrorism?

Shortly after the shooting, the Islamic State (ISIL) terrorist organization stated that Paddock’s attack was planned by this group, and that it had converted to Islam a few months before.

However, the FBI, relatives and friends of the criminal deny this information, because they did not see any signs of a connection between the shooter and ISIS.

At the same time, in May 2017 of the year The Islamic State named Las Vegas as one of the cities where it planned to carry out terrorist attacks..

Smart funny guy

Scott Brunoeler recalls his former son-in-law Stephen Paddock as a smart, funny guy, he told the publication Los Angeles Times.

Paddock was a young man living in Southern California when he was married to Brunoëler’s sister, Sharon, in 1970 and 1980, said a former son-in-law on Monday, October October.

“Oh, he was a smart guy, like an accountant or something like that. “He had a good job, he was a great guy, actually,” Brunoëler said. “We used to go water-skiing.”

62-year-old Brunoeler said he hadn’t spoken to Paddock for a long time since he divorced his sister.

“It was mutual, they just divorced,” said Brunoëler.

“He seemed like a normal, good guy back then. “I don’t remember anything bad,” he said. "I'm still in shock."

Brunoeler found out about the shooting on Sunday evening, after a friend called him and told him that his friend's daughter was injured in a shooting in Las Vegas. He turned on the TV, and then his niece called and called Paddock's data.

He seemed normal

His neighbors in Viera, where he owned a house from 2013 to 2015, cannot say anything bad about the shooter. This edition writes Florida Today.

The sale of the house took place through a realtor, and the following owners did not have direct contact with the Paddock.

“Everything was done through his and my realtor. The house was listed, we liked it and made an offer,” said Mick Anderson, who bought the Viera home from Paddock in 2015. — I had no direct interaction with him. The only thing I can tell you is that documents were regularly delayed.”

Neighbors said that Paddock was not a frequent guest for two years while he owned the house. Don and Sharon Judy, who lived in a residence next door to Paddock's home from 2013, said that he and his girlfriend, Marilo Danley, had come home about five times in two years.

“He seemed normal, except that he lived by gambling. He was very open about it,” Sharon Judy said. “The first time we met him, he handed us a key to the house and said, 'Hey, if you keep an eye on the house, we'll be here from time to time.'

Judy was told that the house was empty. A few chairs, a bed in each bedroom and laptops are all that they saw in the house. When Judy came to Paddock's house, they did not see any weapons.

“Now I’m really shocked,” Sharon said. “It was actually really shocking that he could be normal and then suddenly something like this.” Judy confirmed that the photo from Vegas was of Stephen Paddock, who lived next door to them. They said he didn't seem to interact with anyone else in the neighborhood other than them.

Paddock's former neighbors at his home in Brevard say that Paddock's brother and mother live in Orlando. Records also show that Paddock was the pilot of a small plane. He worked in an aerospace company from 1985 to 1988 year, after which it was renamed Lockheed Martin, according to the company. Lockheed Martin - a global aerospace and defense company - is a major spacecraft manufacturing center in Broward County. Paddock was found dead by Las Vegas police after the deadliest shooting in US history.

Family stunned

"We're completely dumbfounded," said Eric Paddock, who lives east of Orlando. “We can’t understand what happened.”

Eric Paddock said his brother was never cruel. He has never been in the army, had no mental illnesses and was not associated with extremist groups, he said. Orlando santinel.

He added that his brother had several rifles, but not a single machine gun or automatic weapons.

Eric Paddock said he helped his brother move to Las Vegas from Viera in 2015 due to the humid air in Florida. In addition, he loved to play video poker.

According to public information, Paddock had an official hunting and fishing license, as well as a pilot's license. He had two planes. In Nevada, he had no criminal record.

Recall that paddock has opened fire on visitors to a country music festival near the casino Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. 59 people died, more than 500 injured.

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