Sequence of events . On the night of October 1, 2017, starting at 10:05 p.m., Paddock fired over 1,000
rifle rounds from his hotel room, Room 32‑135 at the
Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino, onto a large crowd of concertgoers at the
Route 91 Harvest music festival on the
Las Vegas Strip, ultimately killing 60 people and wounding 867 others. He then shot and killed himself. On September25, six days before the shooting, he checked into the hotel with 10shooting-range bags and a computer. On September 29, he moved into an additional suite, 32–134, connected to the first one; both rooms overlooked the festival grounds. He stayed in both in the days leading up to the shooting. They included fourteen
.223-caliber AR-15type rifles, eight
.308caliber AR-10type rifles, one .308caliber
Ruger American bolt-action rifle, and one
.38caliber Smith & Wesson model342
revolver, all "very expensive," according to a law enforcement source. His arsenal included a large quantity of ammunition in special
high-capacity magazines holding up to 100 cartridges each. Some of the rifles were resting on bipods, and were equipped with high-tech
telescopic sights. All fourteen AR-15-type rifles were outfitted with
bump stocks that make the act of using recoil to assist in pulling the trigger again easier and faster, increasing the weapon's rate of fire. Audio recordings of the attack indicated Paddock used these stocks to fire at the crowd in rapid succession. At some point during the attack on concertgoers, Paddock – who had placed a webcam on a service cart outside his room – fired about 35rounds through his door. The shots wounded approaching hotel security guard Jesus Campos. The unarmed Campos had attempted to enter the 32ndfloor first at 9:59pm on an unrelated matter but found the door to the hallway screwed shut by Paddock. At 10:05pm, Paddock began firing hundreds of rounds in rapid succession at the crowd below. He initially started off with a few single gunshots before firing in prolonged bursts. He stopped shooting ten minutes later at 10:15pm. It is speculated that at that time Paddock committed suicide, shooting himself through the mouth. According to the chronology of events established by the authorities in the following days, the first two police officers reached the 32nd floor of the hotel at 10:17pm. A minute later, they were shown the location of Paddock's door. Between 10:26 and 10:30pm, an additional eight LVMPD officers joined them and began clearing other suites along the 32ndfloor hallway. At 10:55pm, eight
SWAT team members entered the 32nd floor through the second stairwell nearest to Paddock's suite. Once all the other rooms on the floor had been cleared, at 11:20pm — more than an hour after the first two officers arrived and 65minutes after Paddock had ceased firing—police breached his door with an explosive charge and entered the room. Paddock was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot to the head.
Investigation In addition to the firearms and accessories found in Paddock's hotel room, there was a note that included handwritten calculations about where he needed to aim to maximize his accuracy. The note contained the actual distance to the target, his own elevation and the bullet trajectory relative to the line of fire. There were also several laptops in the suite, one of which was missing a
hard drive.
Computer forensics discovered hundreds of images of
child pornography on the laptops. Paddock's brother, Bruce Paddock (referred to as "Daniel Paddock" in other sources), was arrested in Los Angeles in October in an unrelated child pornography investigation.
Ammonium nitrate, often used in
improvised explosive devices, was found in Paddock's car trunk along with 1,600 rounds of ammunition and of
Tannerite, a
binary explosive used to make explosive targets for gun ranges. However, investigators clarified that while Paddock had "nefarious intent" with the material, he did not appear to have assembled an explosive device. An additional 19 firearms were found at his home. Over the weekend following the shooting, Paddock's
Reno home was broken into via the front door by an unknown perpetrator. Authorities stated nothing was known to have been taken, and confirmed that the FBI was revisiting his homes.
Motive According to police, Paddock acted alone. His
motive remains unknown. There has been some discussion around brain pathology initially thought to be benign as a possible contributor. Paddock's remains were sent to
Stanford University to receive a more extensive analysis of his brain. The Stanford pathologists found no abnormalities present within the brain. Investigators believe he was obsessed with cleanliness and possibly had
bipolar disorder. Although a doctor did offer him
antidepressants, he only accepted anxiety medication, and it was reported that he was fearful of medication and often refused to take it. The doctor also described Paddock as "odd" and showing "little emotion". Psychologists
ex post facto have noted a distinct similarity between Paddock's demeanor and the psychological construct
alexithymia, which might have modulated his decision to conduct the shooting given its association with various mass murderers throughout history. The
Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the shooting, saying that Paddock had converted to
Islam six months prior to the terrorist attack, and had renamed himself Abu Abdul Barr al-Amriki, but United States law enforcement officials have given no evidence of a connection between Paddock and IS. ==In popular culture==