New timeline: Gunman shot security guard before, not after, targeting crowd

Hilary Swift / The New York Times

The timeline for the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history initially established by Metro Police and the FBI has changed.

Originally it was believed that the arrival of Mandalay Bay security guard Jesus Campos had stopped Stephen Paddock from firing into the Route 91 Harvest Festival on Oct. 1, when Campos discovered Paddock in his room on the 32nd floor.

On Monday, Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo announced that the timeline was incorrect and that Campos was actually shot by Paddock prior to the mass shooting.

“Mr. Campos was encountered by the suspect prior to his shooting to the outside world,” Lombardo said. “He immediately, upon being injured, notified security of his situation. In close proximity of Mr. Campos being shot there was also a maintenance worker on the 32nd floor. Mr. Campos prevented him from receiving any injuries.”

According to police, Campos was checking on an open-door alarm down the hallway from Paddock’s room when he heard a drilling noise coming from inside. Lombardo said drills were found in the room, and he believes Paddock was attempting to drill a hole into the wall adjacent to the door for either a camera or a rifle.

At 9:59 p.m. Paddock fired “well over 200 rounds” into the hallway, striking Campos in the leg, six minutes before he fired into the music festival crowd below.

“The timeline associated with the original shot with Mr. Campos has changed through investigation,” Lombardo said. “As I have conveyed to (the media) from the very beginning, in (the media’s) zest for information and my zest to ensure the public’s safety and the calming of their minds, some things are going to change. They are minute changes.”

The gunman who killed 58 people in the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history targeted aviation fuel tanks, stockpiled his car with explosives and had personal protection gear as part of an escape plan, the Clark County sheriff said Monday.

Lombardo said that they still have not pinpointed the shooter's motive behind his decision to fire on a concert crowd of 22,000 in Las Vegas on Oct. 1 from the 32nd floor of Mandalay Bay.

There's still no evidence Paddock was motivated by ideology, and there's no evidence there was another shooter, he said. Investigators have found 200 incidents of Paddock moving through the city, and at no time was he with anyone else, Lombardo said.

They haven't found any one particular event in Paddock's life that triggered the shooting, he said. A complete evaluation of Paddock's mental condition is not yet done, Lombardo said. They didn't find any note in his room, only a paper with numbers, he said.

Lombardo also confirmed investigators are talking with Paddock's brother Eric Paddock, who traveled to Las Vegas, and continue to speak with the shooter's girlfriend, Marilou Danley, to get insight.

Lombardo declined to reveal what they've said, but he stated, "Every piece of information we get is one more piece of the puzzle."

Meanwhile, friends and relatives of the victims and other concert-goers who survived returned Monday to reclaim baby strollers, shoes, phones, backpacks and purses left behind in the panic as they fled.

The personal effects being recovered were strewn across the massive grassy concert venue where 22,000 country music fans attended the Route 91 Harvest festival have become sentimental memories of loved ones for some and haunting reminders of the night of terror for others.

People left behind thousands of lawn chairs, hats, wallets, souvenirs, cellphones, purses, boots and several other items, Clark County Emergency Manager John Steinbeck said.

People are being allowed to come retrieve their things in groups based on where they were seated, with authorities expanding the offer Monday to include people who were seated west of the stage, he said. Authorities are powering up cellphones and asking people to text their full names to the phones to ensure they are returned to the correct owners.

Some of the victims have already been returned home and been memorialized at funerals while many others were in route on Monday ahead of services planned for later dates.

More than 800 people packed into a California church on Saturday to honor the life of Jack Beaton, who died shielding his wife from gunfire. A white hearse carrying the casket of Christopher Roybal, a veteran who served combat during four tours in the Middle East, was led by a procession of motorcycles to McCarran International Airport for a short flight to Southern California.

Eric Paddock said he came to Las Vegas to retrieve his brother's body in hopes of sending the cremated ashes to their 89-year-old mother in Orlando.

Clark County Coroner John Fudenberg said Monday he could not discuss the results of an autopsy done on Stephen Paddock, who police said shot himself dead before officers arrived at the Las Vegas Strip hotel suite from which he rained gunfire on a concert crowd below.

The coroner didn't say when Paddock's body would be released to his family or how long it will be before autopsy results are made public.

In a newly revealed court document obtained by CNN, Stephen Paddock described himself as a nocturnal creature who bet up to $1 million each night while gambling at Las Vegas casinos in flip-flops and sweat pants, catching sleep in the day. The description of his lifestyle comes from a deposition filed as part of a civil lawsuit he filed against the Cosmopolitan, where he slipped and fell in 2011.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.