Public’s help sought in Vegas massacre probe

Police and FBI agents, chasing down more than 1,000 dead-end leads sincea gunman killed 58 people in Las Vegas, are seeking more help from thepublic in solving the central mystery of their investigation – theshooter’s motive.Clark County Undersheriff Kevin McMahill said investigators remainlargely in the dark about what drove retired real estate investor andhigh-stakes gambler Stephen Paddock to carry out the deadliest massshooting in modern US history.“We have looked at everything, literally, to include the suspect’spersonal life, any political affiliation, his social behaviors, economicsituation, any potential radicalisation,” McMahill told reporters lateon Friday. “We have been down each and every single one of these paths,trying to determine why, to determine who else may have known of theseplans.”McMahill acknowledged that the Islamic State (IS) group had repeatedlyclaimed responsibility for the attack, but said investigators haduncovered “no nexus” between the Middle East-based militant group andPaddock.In an unusual bid to cast a wider net for tips, the Federal Bureau ofInvestigation (FBI) and police have arranged with communications companyClear Channel to post billboards around Las Vegas urging citizens tocome forward with any information they believe might help investigators.The billboards will bear the slogan, “If you know something, saysomething”, and carry a toll-free number to an FBI hotline, said AaronRouse, special agent in charge of the Las Vegas FBI office.The public appeal came a day before US Vice-President Mike Pence wasslated to join Mayor Carolyn Goodman and other local leaders at a CityHall commemoration for victims of the shooting, following a prayer walkthrough the city.President Donald Trump paid a visit to Las Vegas earlier in the week.Paddock, 64, unleashed a torrent of gunfire onto an outdoor musicfestival from the windows of his 32nd-floor hotel suite overlooking theconcert last Sunday night, then shot himself to death before policestormed his room.In addition to the 58 people who died, nearly 500 were injured, some bygunfire, some trampled or otherwise hurt while running for cover.Unlike so many other perpetrators of deadly mass shootings before him,Paddock left behind no suicide note, no manifesto, no recordings and nomessages on social media pointing to his intent, according to police.McMahill said investigators remained certain Paddock acted alone in the shooting.But police have said they suspect that he had help before the killings,based on the large number of guns, ammunition and explosives found inthe hotel suite, his home, his car and a second home searched in Reno.Authorities have said that 12 of the weapons recovered from Paddock’shotel suite were equipped with so-called bump-stock devices that enablesemi-automatic rifles to be operated as if they were fully automaticmachine-guns.Paddock’s ability to fire hundreds of rounds per minute over the courseof his 10-minute shooting spree was a major factor in the high casualtycount, police said.The bloodshed might have lasted longer, with greater loss of life, butfor a hotel security officer who was sent to check an open-door alarm onthe 32nd floor, and discovered the gunman’s whereabouts after theshooting started, McMahill said.The security officer, Jesus Campos, was struck in the leg as the gunmanstrafed the hallway with gunfire from behind his door, apparently havingdetected Campos via surveillance cameras that Paddock set up outsidehis hotel suite.Campos, though wounded, alerted the hotel’s dispatch, “which wasabsolutely critical to us knowing the location as well as advising theresponding officers as they arrived on that 32nd floor”, McMahill said.“He’s an absolute hero.”In a new disclosure, authorities said two bullets Paddock fired struck alarge jet fuel storage tank at the edge of the city’s main airport,about a block from the concert grounds, indicating an apparent attemptby the gunman to create even greater havoc.There was no explosion or fire from the two rounds, one of whichpenetrated the tank, as jet fuel in storage is almost impossible toignite with gunshots, airport officials said on Friday.Paddock’s girlfriend, Marilou Danley, 62, was questioned by the FBI onWednesday and said in a statement that she never had any inkling ofPaddock’s plans.Danley, who returned late on Tuesday from a family visit to thePhilippines, is regarded by investigators as a “person of interest”.The Australian citizen of Filipino heritage is co-operating fully with authorities, her lawyer said.