There was only one shooter in Las Vegas, police have said, despite numerous online detectives claiming there were multiple attackers.

As the attack happened, reports had suggested that there was more than one shooter. But those were quickly dismissed by police, who say that only one man was responsible for the massacre: Stephen Paddock, who died soon after he opened fire on a concert in Las Vegas.

Despite the police's insistence that only one person was involved in the attack, numerous people online are still claiming that more than one person was firing onto that crowd. Some even suggest that fact is part of a larger conspiracy, and that more information is being covered up by the police.

Las Vegas shooting – in pictures Show all 15 1 /15 Las Vegas shooting – in pictures Las Vegas shooting – in pictures People scramble for shelter at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after gun fire was heard Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures People carry a person at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after shots were fired David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures People run from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after gun fire was heard David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures A handout photo released via Twitter by Eiki Hrafnsson (@EirikurH) showing concertgoers running away from the scene (C) after shots range out at the Route 91 Harvest festival on Las Vegas Boulevard EPA/Eiki Hrafnsson Las Vegas shooting – in pictures People lie on the ground at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after hearing gun fire Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures A man in a wheelchair is taken away from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after hearing gun fire David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures People stand on the street outside the Mandalay Bay hotel near the scene of the Route 91 Harvest festival on Las Vegas Boulevard EPA/Paul Buck Las Vegas shooting – in pictures FBI agents confer in front of the Tropicana hotel-casino after a mass shooting during a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus Las Vegas shooting – in pictures Las Vegas police run by a banner on the fence at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival grounds after shots were fired David Becker/Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures An injured person is tended to in the intersection of Tropicana Ave. and Las Vegas Boulevard after a mass shooting at a country music festival Ethan Miller/Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures Metro Police officers pass by the front of the Tropicana hotel-casino after a mass shooting at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus Las Vegas shooting – in pictures A woman sits on a curb at the scene of a shooting outside of a music festival along the Las Vegas Strip AP/John Locher Las Vegas shooting – in pictures A cowboy hat lays in the street after shots were fired near a country music festival in Las Vegas Getty Las Vegas shooting – in pictures Las Vegas Metro Police and medical workers stage in the intersection of Tropicana Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard South after a mass shooting at a music festival on the Las Vegas Strip Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus Las Vegas shooting – in pictures Sheriff Joe Lombardo (2-R) speaking during a press briefing in the aftermath of the active shooter incident on Las Vegas Boulevard EPA

The popularity of those conspiracies appear to be a consequence of the fact that police have said – and apparently know – so little about the attack and why it happened. In the desparate search to find a motive for such a horrifying attack, various false theories and hoaxes have filled the gap.

The latest of those is the claim that shots were coming from another part of the building, as well as the 32nd floor suite that Paddock is known to have fired from.

Those appear to have begun because of the confusion that ensued as the attack began. A number of witnesses reported that the shots appeared to be coming from more than one place – but those appear to have been a consequence of the chaos as people ran for their lives.

Presumably because the shots were echoing around the Las Vegas strip, and because it wasn't clear where the gunfire was coming from, people said that they appeared to have been fired on from multiple places. Those reports were quickly picked up.

Very soon after that, police said they were sure that Paddock had acted alone, and that all of the bullets came from that same room. But that hasn't put a stop to the claims that there was in fact multiple shooters, and that fact is being covered up by the police and the media.

A number of videos posted online appear to show flashes coming out of rooms lower down in the building, and not from Paddock's floor. The videos are unclear, however – and the flashes are likely to be the result of lights or other disturbances in the hotel rooms in the middle of the chaos, not another gunman.