WILL LAS VEGAS RECOVER AFTER THE ATTACK ?

WILL LAS VEGAS RECOVER AFTER THE ATTACK 

stephen craig paddock (the shooter)

MESQUITE, Nev. — The man who carried out the deadliest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history was a retired accountant with a taste for high-stakes poker who had moved to Nevada just a couple of years earlier.

While investigators were still piecing together the attack by Stephen Paddock at a country music concert that left at least 59 dead and 527 wounded, the gunman's younger brother said the gunman had shown no signs of volatility.

A wealthy retired accountant opened fire from a hotel room above a packed outdoor concert in Las Vegas, killing at least 59, wounding 527 more and triggering a stampede as the panicked crowd scrambled for cover amid the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. 

Gunman Stephen Craig Paddock, 64, an avid gambler who enjoyed playing high-stakes poker, killed himself shortly before officers stormed his 32nd-floor room at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, said Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo.

As of late Monday, authorities seized over 40 firearms that Paddock had either in his hotel room or at his home in Mesquite, Nev., where police also seized explosives and thousands of rounds of ammunition. Another search warrant was executed Monday at a separate home that Paddock owned in Reno, but details weren't released as to what was found in that house.

Lombardo described Paddock, the son of a 1960s bank robber who was on the FBI's most-wanted list after escaping from prison, as "a distraught person intent on causing mass casualties." Lombardo said Paddock was likely a "lone wolf" and that a motive for the shooting had not been determined.

"This is a crazed lunatic full of hate," Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman said. "This has been a hugely traumatic time for all of us."

Paddock had checked into the Mandalay Bay on Sept. 28, but officials couldn’t say by Monday evening whether he specifically requested the towering room. They also couldn’t offer a definite timeline of Paddock’s actions in the days leading up to the shooting, the moments during the massacre, or how Paddock managed to transport nearly two dozen weapons into his room undetected.

Assistant Sheriff Todd Fasulo said he knew the public was eager to understand Paddock’s motive, but urged patience during the investigation.

“We’re hunting down and tracing down every clue we can get in his background,” he said.

Other officials touted the city’s resilience in the aftermath of the city’s tragedy. Blood banks were now stocked, and by Monday evening were turning away would-be donors. And a GoFundMe page had collected more than $2.2 million from 30,000 donors, including a $400,000 donation from Stephen Cloobeck, the founder of Diamond Resorts International.

Paddock’s brother, Eric Paddock, who lives in Florida, says his multimillionaire brother was a big spender at casinos and often received free meals and rooms there.

With hospitals jammed with victims, authorities put out a call for blood donations and set up a hotline to report missing people and speed the identification of the dead and wounded. They also opened a “family reunification center” for people to find loved ones.

More than 12 hours after the massacre, bodies covered in white sheets were still being removed from the festival grounds.

President Trump addressed the nation Monday from the White House, calling the attack "an act of pure evil" and ordering flags flown at half staff. He thanked first-responders for their "miraculous" efforts and said he would visit Las Vegas on Wednesday.

The mass shooting underscored how easy it can be to bring weapons and other contraband into hotels . Although it wasn't immediately clear how Paddock got the weapons and ammo to his room, security experts say he easily could have hid them in innocuous containers.

"You can bring a long gun in disassembled in a small suitcase. Nobody would think twice about somebody carrying in a golf bag, or something like a big snow ski bag," said Angela Hrdlicka, a former Secret Service agent who is now a private security consultant for Major League Baseball parks and other professional sports.

Lombardo said officials have yet to locate any manifesto or other indication of motive.

Lombardo laid out the frantic minutes between the shooting and officials locating Paddock in his 32nd-floor hotel room. He said officers received information from security that the shooter was likely staying between the 28th and the 32nd floor.

A team of six officers approached security, went up in elevators and checked “each floor, floor by floor,” until they reached Paddock’s room, he said.

As they approached the room, the team came under fire and one security guard was shot in the leg. The team then backed off for a SWAT team to intervene. They were able to gain entry into the room and found Paddock dead.

THIS IS VERY SAD BUT NO ONE CAN STOP IT.

MAY THE SOUL REST IN PEACE

BEST REGARDS,

K.Akshay