FBI Denies Las Vegas Shooter Connected to ISIS

FBI Denies Las Vegas Shooter Connected to ISIS
Petr Svab
10/2/2017
Updated:
10/5/2018

The shooter responsible for at least 58 deaths in Las Vegas on Sunday, Oct. 1, wasn’t connected to ISIS, as far as FBI could tell as of Monday morning, Oct. 2.

“As this event unfolds, we have determined, to this point, no connection with an international terrorist group,” said Special Agent Aaron Rouse, the top administrator of the Las Vegas FBI division, at a Monday morning news conference with Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo.

ISIS news agency Amaq claimed the shooter, Stephen Paddock, 64, was “a soldier of the Islamic State.”

It also claimed Paddock “converted to Islam a few months ago.”

While the investigation continues, U.S. authorities haven’t reported any evidence substantiating ISIS’s claims.

Paddock’s family haven’t noticed any possible motivation for the attack.

“He was just a guy. Something happened, he snapped or something,” his brother Eric Paddock told The Daily Mail.

“He’s my brother, we don’t have a very close relationship but we talk occasionally. There’s no rhyme or reason here, it makes no sense.”

“He has no political affiliation, no religious affiliation, as far as we know. This wasn’t a terror attack.”

Paddock lived in Mesquite, a small town of about 18,000 residents on the border of Nevada and Arizona, CNN reported. Authorities are now searching Paddock’s home, some 82 miles northeast of Las Vegas.
Mesquite, Nev. (Screenshot via Google Maps)
Mesquite, Nev. (Screenshot via Google Maps)

Paddock stayed at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino since Thursday, Sept. 28, according to authorities. Police found more than 10 rifles in Paddock’s room.

Paddock rained down bullets from his 32nd-floor hotel window for several minutes, taking the lives of at least 58 people and wounding at least 515. Police found Paddock dead in his room when officers broke down the door. Authorities do not believe he had any accomplices.

People carry a person at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after gunfire was heard in Las Vegas on Oct. 1, 2017.(David Becker/Getty Images)
People carry a person at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival after gunfire was heard in Las Vegas on Oct. 1, 2017.(David Becker/Getty Images)

Police say Paddock’s record was clean, except for a citation issued years ago that was handled in court.

Marilou Danley was identified as Paddock’s female companion. She was thought as a person of interest initially, but police have cleared her of any suspicion. She was out of the country when the shooting happened.

Paddock held a private pilot license, according to the FAA.