Bullets fired by Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock hit large aviation fuel tanks near the site of the Route 91 music festival, a law enforcement source has said.

One of the bullets penetrated the tank but did not cause a fire or explosion, according to a report by the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The fuel tanks were in the line of sight during Mr Paddock’s attack on concert-goers, but it is not known if he was specifically targeting the containers.

The tanks are situated just beyond the music festival area, around 2,000 feet from the Mandalay Bay Hotel from which Mr Paddock fired into the crowd, killing 58 people and injuring hundreds more.

The tanks sit on property owned by McCarran International Airport.

County Clark Sheriff Joseph Lombardo told a press conference on Wednesday around 1,600 rounds of ammunition and containers of explosives were found in Mr Paddock’s car at the hotel.

Police said there was evidence Mr Paddock, who was found dead in his hotel room 75 minutes after the first 9/11 call, intended to survive the attack.

One week earlier, he had rented an apartment overlooking another open-air music festival in downtown Las Vegas.

Police said the reasons why Mr Paddock committed the atrocity is still unknown and whether there were any possible accomplices remains a mystery, although it was likely he “had some help”.

Mr Lombardo told reporters: “You look at the weapon obtaining, the different amounts of Tannerite [explosives] available, do you think this was all accomplished on his own?

“On face value, you’ve got to make the assumption he had to have some help at some point, and we want to ensure that that’s the answer.”

The girlfriend of Mr Paddock, Marilou Danley, said she was not aware he was planning any violence, but said that a trip to the Philippines he sent her on during the shooting was a way to end their relationship.

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

Ms Danley, who spoke to the FBI on Wednesday, said she knew Mr Paddock as a “kind, caring, quiet man” and said she was “devastated by the deaths and injuries that have occurred.”