Who was Las Vegas Mass Murderer Stephen Paddock? And Why Won’t the US Government Tell Us? Vincent Zandri Follow Jan 3 · 4 min read

(Courtesy Wikipedia)

Like the rest of you, I’ve been trying to make sense of the horrific massacre that took the lives of 59 souls and wounded many more on Sunday, October 1, 2017 at a concert outside the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas. It’s now 2020 and I’m still trying to wrap my brain around how a single late middle-aged man could more or less clandestinely haul a dozen or so long guns up into a 32nd floor room over the course of four days and nights, how he could carry up thousands of rounds of ammo (I own an AR-15 and possess ammo for it, and trust me, this type of hardware isn’t light), how he could build shooting platforms up against two designated windows, how food and drink could be delivered to his room, how his maid service didn’t get suspicious even if he did refuse it (still sketchy on this topic), how he could set up a camera system to film himself, and more.

(courtesy ABC7News)

As a freelance journalist, I paid close attention to the news networks and their reporting, and it seemed like all that was discussed were the weapons used in the mass murder spree, plus the so-called bump stocks which turned a semi-automatic long gun into a crazy lethal, fully automatic weapon.

Listen, Vegas is apparently one of the most security camera filled destinations on the planet. Where’s the CCTV video footage of Paddock parking his car in the garage, or his checking into the hotel with his bags? Where’s the footage of him entering his room, or in the elevator, or stairwell? We have little black and white snippets of him walking in the hall, and some other shots of him walking the casino floor, but not much else. What kind of info have the FBI uncovered on his laptop?

UPDATE: Medium Writer Chad Valentine was able to provide me with a YouTube video that answers some of these CCTV questions. It’s still noteworthy that these images were not released for a relatively long time (they’re visual evidence), and in some case raise even more questions, the major one being, how could this man have possibly gotten away with carrying bags and bags of weaponry into a family friendly hotel?

(courtesy YouTube and Chad Valentine)

Speaking of the FBI, they say more than one person might have been involved in what is now widely recognized as the worst mass shooting in US history next to the Civil War. If more than one shooter was involved, who was he or she? It was also revealed that Paddock planned his own escape. So why then did he commit suicide? Or was it suicide? Still so many questions but so few answers.

One interesting theory is that this scumbag Paddock might have actually been running guns for one terrorist organization or another, and the whole thing went bad. Right now, Paddock doesn’t fit the personality/profile bill as someone who would shoot all those poor people. He was however, a wealthy, professional gambler, so I think he fits the bill as someone who would willingly run guns, for say $100K that would be placed inside a Philippine bank, tax free, which is exactly what happened.

(courtesy ABC7News)

Who was the real Stephen Paddock and why won’t the government tell us more? Why has this become less about madmen and/or terrorists bent on mass murder be it guns or bombs or trucks or Tylenol pill bottles, or whatever, than it has for the left (and late night talk show hosts) to call for more gun control?

Why would a lawyer who works for CBS feel comfortable coming out and saying she has zero sympathy for the innocents slain since they were probably Trump supporters? Was the mass killing an act of politically motivated terrorism like the shooting spree that occurred on the Washington DC baseball fields the previous June specifically targeting Republicans and nearly killing Rep. Steve Scalise? Was this the just beginning of the second US Civil War and no one wanted to admit it? Or was this just simply the reprehensible act of one evil lone gunman, a la Lee Harvey Oswald?



Not even Paddock’s long time girlfriend seemed to know who the real Stephen Paddock was before he blew his brains out.



One thing is certain: what happened that pleasant Sunday night in the early Fall of 2017 was beyond tragic and my heart continues to bleed for all the forgotten victims, while my soul is heartened by all those courageous individuals who risked life and limb to save others. Kudos to Vegas Law Enforcement who willingly ran into the line of fire.



But who was Stephen Paddock, and why won’t the FBI tell us everything we deserve to know?