Route 91 Shooter Looked Into Other Festivals, Purchased 50 Guns Over Past Year

Las Vegas Route 91 shooter Stephen Paddock stayed in downtown Las Vegas during the LIfe is Beautiful Festival, reserved a room overlooking Lollapalooza in Chicago and Googled “biggest open air concert venues in USA” among other terms, according to an extensive preliminary report released by Las Vegas police Jan. 18.  

Drew Angerer/Getty Images – Vegas Mourns
Mourners hold their candles in the air during a moment of silence during a vigil to mark one week since the mass shooting at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival, on the corner of Sahara Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard at the north end of the Las Vegas Strip, on October 8, 2017 in Las Vegas,

Paddock, who killed 58 people and wounded 700 more after opening fire on the Route 91 Harvest festival crowd Oct. 1 from his hotel room at the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino, checked into The Ogden condominium complex in downtown Las Vegas Sept. 17, where he was booked through Sept. 28 according to the report.

Paddock’s stay at The Ogden coincided with the Life is Beautiful music festival, the report states, which took place in the city’s downtown Sept. 22-24 and featured Chance The Rapper, Muse, Gorillaz, Lorde, Blink-182 and Wiz Khalifa among many others. The festival is produced by Another Planet Entertainment.

“While staying at The Ogden, Paddock exhibited behavior which was similar to his time spent at Mandalay Bay. Paddock left for long periods of time, returning to Mesquite, Nevada, flying to Reno, Nevada and traveling to Arizona. … Paddock was also observed moving numerous suitcases from his vehicle to the various units he rented.”

As previously reported, Paddock also reserved a room during Lollapalooza at Grant Park in Chicago in August. “Paddock specifically requested a room overlooking the venue when he made the reservation. The reservation was cancelled two days prior to the check-in date,” the report reads.

The report released Jan. 18 includes extensive details about how the shooting unfolded during Jason Aldean’s set in front of 22,000 people, including maps noting the location of those killed and photos from Paddock’s view of the festival grounds, and his hotel room including the surveillance he set up in the hotel’s hallway.

Police have still yet to determine a motive, saying Paddock was not a member of any hate group or radical ideology, purchased all his firearms legally and acted alone, previously living an apparently normal enough life.

Paddock used other search terms including “summer concerts 2017,” “grant park functions,” “biggest bear,” “La Jolla Beach,” “open air concert venues,” “biggest open air concert venues in USA,” and “how crowded does Santa Monica Beach get.” Another: “life is beautiful expected attendance.”

He also seemed to be checking for holes in security, with searches including “swat weapons,” “ballistics chart 308,” “SWAT Las Vegas,” “ballistic,” and “do police use explosives.”

Paddock purchased more than 50 firearms from October 2016 to September 2017, according to the report, including accessories such as scopes and bump stocks that allow rifles to fire akin to fully automatic weapons.

He had purchased 29 firearms in the period from 1982 to September 2016.

Paddock’s girlfriend, Marilou Danley, was in the Philippines at the time of the shooting and had previously been sought as a person of interest, but has since spoken with authorities. She told police the couple had stayed together at the Mandalay Bay hotel in September 2017, and during the trip he would look out the windows from different angles in a strange way. 

Danley also said Paddock had been behaving oddly for the last year of his life and she thought he was breaking up with her when he unexpectedly wired her $100,000 prior to the shooting.

While extensive and detailed, the report released is said to be preliminary.

“It is not standard practice for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) to issue an investigative overview related to an open case. Due to the magnitude of this investigative response and the number of victims associated with this incident, Sheriff Joseph Lombardo felt it was important to author an overview of all investigative work accomplished in the aftermath of 1 October,” the report reads.

It notes that a “comprehensive” report will be released upon the investigation’s completion.