As survivors of the worst mass shooting in U.S. history mark its two-year anniversary, a big question remains unanswered.
The American public is still in the dark why Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock opened fire at country music concertgoers at the Mandalay Bay resort on Oct. 1, 2017. He killed 58 people and injured hundreds more.
The families of the victims appeared at a ceremony in Las Vegas on Tuesday, with Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak speaking at the ceremony.
“Our Las Vegas family showed its true colors like never before, to give blood, to give comfort, to give support, and to push through the next day and the next, and the one after that,” Sisolak said Tuesday morning, ABC News reported.
In early January, the FBI’s agents and behavior specialists spent more than a year investigating the shooting. But two years later, none of the officials could definitely say what Paddock’s motive was.
The agency said months ago, in its final report, that there was no “single or clear motivating factor” to explain why Paddock carried out the attack, reported The Associated Press.
“It wasn’t about MGM, Mandalay Bay or a specific casino or venue,” Aaron Rouse, who is the agent in charge of the FBI’s Las Vegas office, told AP.
The attack, he said, “was all about doing the maximum amount of damage and him obtaining some form of infamy.”
Rouse noted that the FBI report “comes as close to understanding the why as we’re ever going to get.”
The 64-year-old gambler acted alone when he carried out the shooting, barricading himself in a resort room. As police arrived at his suite, Paddock shot and killed himself.
Paddock owned rental properties and homes around Reno, Nevada. Before that, he worked as a postal service worker, had a pilot’s license, and was a high-stakes gambler, Fox reported.
Officials said that he had ranted about FEMA camps following Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana and Mississippi. He also spoke about standoffs between law enforcement and groups in Waco, Texas, and Ruby Ridge, Idaho, in the early 1990s.
The gunman was not directed or inspired by any group and wasn’t seeking to further any agenda, officials said, according to AP. He also didn’t leave a manifesto or suicide note.
He stockpiled weapons before the shooting, spent more than $1 million, and distanced himself from his family, officials said, according to the report.
His younger brother, Eric Paddock, said he was the “king of microaggression,” describing him as bored, detail-oriented, and narcissistic.
Ex-Girlfriend Speaks
Meanwhile, several days ago, Paddock’s ex-girlfriend Marilou Danley spoke briefly to news outlets, saying she has “found peace.”
Danley now lives a quiet life with her daughter, according to the Daily Mail on Sept. 28.
She told The Courier-Mail twice that she is “in peace right now” following the mass shooting.
