The Las Vegas shooter's father was once on the FBI's 10 most wanted list.

Stephen Paddock killed more than 58 people when he opened fire on a concert in Las Vegas, spraying a concert with a hail of bullets. He shot himself before he could be apprehended.

And it has now emerged that his father, Patrick Benjamin Paddock, was known as a violent bank robber during the 1960s and 1970s. His crimes made him one of the most notorious criminals in the US during his heyday.

An FBI poster that is available online says that the Las Vegas killer's father “diagnosed as psychopathic, has carried firearms in commission of bank robberies” and “reportedly has suicidal tendencies and should be considered armed and very dangerous.”

Local news reports soon after his crimes were reported said that neighbours "couldn’t believe that the colorful businessman, then 34 years old, was involved in crime". Another report says that he was captured in 1978, when he was running a bingo parlor.

A picture from Paddock's entry on the FBI's most wanted website (FBI)

He had been removed from the most wanted list a year before, because "it was felt he no longer fit the 'Top Ten' criteria", according to the FBI's official website.

The older Paddock was also involved in a violent attack in Las Vegas, according to a contemporaneous report in Tucson's Daily Citizen. When he was apprehended by the FBI, he attempted to run down an agent using his car, the report said.

Paddock himself had no criminal record apart from a traffic violation, according to Las Vegas police.

Brother of Las Vegas gunman says there is no logic to explain the mass shooting

The detail is the one strange piece of information to emerge about the man behind the massacre, which is the deadliest mass shooting in US history. People including his brother, who first reported their father's notoriety, said that Paddock's life was surprisingly normal and there was nothing to indicate he was planning such an attack.

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

His brother, Eric Paddock, said he was a peaceful man who moved back to Nevada, where gambling is legal, partly because of his fondness for video poker.

"He's never drawn his gun, it makes no sense," Paddock said from his doorstep in Orlando, Florida. His brother had a couple of handguns he kept in a safe, perhaps a long rifle, "but no automatic weapons."