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The gunman responsible for the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history "meticulously" planned the event and spent decades acquiring weapons while living a secret life, Las Vegas police say.
Key points:
- Police reveal the first shot was fired three minutes earlier than first thought
- Sheriff says "on face value, you've got to make the assumption … [Paddock] had some help"
- Paddock stayed at Ogden hotel overlooking Life is Beautiful festival the week prior
Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said hundreds of officers had spent days building a profile of the shooter, 64-year-old Stephen Paddock.
"We have produced a profile of someone who is disturbed and dangerous," Sheriff Lombardo said.
"A man who spent decades acquiring weapons and ammo and living a secret life, much of which will never be understood."
Sheriff Lombardo revealed Paddock's arsenal of weapons and meticulous planning led authorities to believe he may have "had some help" along the line.
"You look at the weapon obtaining, the different amounts of Tannerite [explosives] available, do you think this was all accomplished on his own?" he said.
"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 right] answer."
The latest details emerged just hours after the shooter's girlfriend Marilou Danley released her first statement to the public.
She described him as a "kind, caring, quiet" man.
"It never occurred to me in any way whatsoever that he was planning violence against anyone," she said.
Paddock's brother, Eric, also said he was, "shocked, horrified and completely dumfounded" to learn of his brother's involvement in the massacre which left 58 people dead.
Police also said 317 of the 489 people injured in the Las Vegas shooting had been discharged from hospitals.
The number of people injured in the massacre has been revised down from an earlier count of more than 500.
Revised timeline of events
Las Vegas shooting timeline
10:05pm - First shots fired by the suspect. This was seen on CCTV from the concert venue10:12pm - First two officers arrive on the 31st floor and announce the gunfire is coming from directly above them
10:15pm - The last shots are fired from the suspect
10:17pm - The first two officers arrive on the 32nd floor
10:18pm - Security officer tells the LVMPD officers he was shot and gives them the exact location of the suspect's room
10:26-10:30pm - Eight additional officers arrive on the 32nd floor and begin to move systemically down the hallway, clearing every room and looking for any injured people. They move this way because they no longer hear the gunfire of an active shooter situation
10:55pm – Eight officers arrive in the stairwell at the opposite end of the hallway nearest to the suspect's room
11:20pm - The first breach was set off and officers entered the room. They observed the suspect down on the ground and also saw a second door that could not be accessed from their position
11:27pm - The second breach was set off to allow officers to access the second room
Officers also revealed that the first shot was fired at 10:05pm — three minutes earlier than initially thought.
The sheriff confirmed reports that it took 72 minutes from the moment the shooting started for officers to declare the situation was over, but said Paddock's barrage lasted nine minutes.
"Police determined the shooting was occurring from the Mandalay Bay Hotel within 12 minutes, which is phenomenal," Sheriff Lombardo said.
"When they [the first team] arrived the gunfire had stopped. In accordance with training, officers received a master key card and began to systematically clear each hotel room.
"In the initial approach it was obvious several rounds had been discharged through the door.
"A weapon could be seen through those holes but no suspect."
On Wednesday, it emerged that Paddock had set up surveillance cameras outside the room to monitor when officers were closing in on his location.
Sheriff Lombardo said none of the cameras Paddock put up in the hotel room where he unleashed gunfire onto a concert crowd were recording.
After carrying out a search warrant on a second vehicle belonging to Paddock at the Mandalay Bay, police said they found a further 1,600 rounds of ammunition and 22kg of the explosive Tannerite.
Sheriff Lombardo said he did not know what, if anything, Paddock was planning with the explosives.
Police also confirmed reports that Paddock had rented a room in the city a week before he carried out the mass shooting.
"Paddock rented a room at the Ogden hotel in downtown Las Vegas,' Sheriff Lombardo said.
"Though his reasons are unknown, it was during the same time as Life is Beautiful [music festival]."
The Life is Beautiful festival, headlined by Lorde and Chance the Rapper, saw crowds of up to 200,000 people and was overlooked by the Ogden Hotel.
Police said they were reviewing CCTV and video footage of Paddock's time at the Ogden to piece together the events leading up to the incident.
Topics: murder-and-manslaughter, crime, united-states
First posted