The Clark County Sheriff’s office has released a preliminary report on the investigation into the October 1 Las Vegas shooting massacre, detailing Stephen Paddock’s movements in the days and weeks leading up the deadliest shooting massacre in modern U.S. history.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said in a news conference on Friday that he still believed Stephen Paddock was the lone gunman in the attack and said that he does not anticipate any charges against Paddock’s girlfriend Marilou Danley. Despite an earlier report from a Las Vegas-based NBC affiliate, there is no indication in the investigative report released Friday that Danley was at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in the week leading up to the shooting. Paddock did reserve one of the adjacent suites he rented in Danley’s name, used Danley’s player card while gambling at the casino, and parked a car with a valet under Danley’s name. Also, multiple room service orders show that Paddock ordered two entrees.
The report shows that Paddock traveled from Las Vegas to Mesquite, Nevada, almost daily during the week he stayed there ahead of the October 1 shooting. The report indicates that he made multiple trips from a vehicle to his hotel suite carrying multiple bags, and visited a gun range during one visit to Mesquite. He also on two occasions requested that he use the service elevator to bring numerous bags to his room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino. He was accompanied by two different bellhops on the occasions he used the service elevator.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Paddock had visited Las Vegas earlier in September and rented a room at the Ogden condominium building during the time the Life is Beautiful outdoor music festival was taking place, from September 22 through September 24. Paddock reserved three different units overlooking the festival grounds, presumably at various times, from September 17 through September 28, overlapping with his reservation at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, which began on September 25.
Paddock’s behavior while staying at the Ogden in some ways mirrors his behavior during his stay at the Mandalay Bay.
According to the report:
“Paddock left for long periods of time, returning to Mesquite, Nevada, flying to Reno, Nevada and traveling to Arizona. Paddock was observed numerous times gambling at downtown Las Vegas casinos. Paddock was also observed moving numerous suitcases from his vehicle to the various units he rented.”
The report states that investigators have yet been unable to conclude whether Paddock intended a shooting massacre at the Life is Beautiful festival or if it was a test run.
The report also details the night of the shooting, when Mandalay Bay security guard Jesus Campos was alerted by the sound of gunshots while he was responding to an unrelated security issue on the same floor. The timeline presented in the report largely resembles previously reported police timelines, save a few details that stood out: First, when Campos reported to dispatch that he had been shot, he said he had been hit with a BB or a pellet gun. In fact, Campos had been shot in the leg with a round Paddock had fired into the hotel hallway.
Campos also had a minor variation in the account he gave authorities about how he arrived to the 32nd floor vs. what was shown on security cameras. From the report:
“Security Officer Campos stated he walked down the stairwell to the 31st floor, entered the hallway and walked to the Center Core. He used the guest elevator to go to the 32nd floor. Video surveillance showed Security Officer Campos actually went to the 33rd floor, then took a guest elevator down to the 32nd floor.”
In late October, Fox News host Tucker Carlson reported that Campos had traveled to Mexico the week following the massacre. The investigative report confirms that Campos did in fact make this trip, and that it was a pre-planned vacation to visit his father. Campos reportedly asked for permission from investigators to go forward with his travel plans.
CrimeOnline will continue to provide updates on this developing story.
[Feature image: Associated Press/Stephen Paddock]
