Lollapalooza, Life Is Beautiful Festival May Have Also Been Las Vegas Shooter Targets
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA/AP) — Four days into the investigation of the massacre in Las Vegas, there are more questions than answers.
Did shooter Stephen Paddock have an accomplice? Was the Route 91 Festival his first target? And most importantly – why?
The weekend before Sunday's shooting, Paddock had rented a high-rise condo in a building that overlooked the Life is Beautiful alternative music festival featuring Chance the Rapper, Muse, Lorde and Blink-182, said Lombardo, who offered no other details about what led Paddock there.
Back in August, Paddock also booked a room at the Blackstone Hotel in Chicago with sights on Lollapalooza. Investigators say he may have also targeted Fenway Park in Boston, home of MLB's Red Sox and had plans to use car bombs near events.
On Sept. 28, the 64-year-old high-stakes gambler and real estate investor checked into Mandalay Bay and specifically requested an upper-floor room with a view of the Route 91 Harvest music festival, according to a person who has seen hotel records turned over to investigators.
Paddock wasn't able to move into the room until Saturday, said the person, who was not authorized to speak publicly and disclosed the information to the AP on condition of anonymity.
The room, which goes for $590 a night, was given to Paddock for free because he was a good customer who wagered tens of thousands of dollars each time he visited the casino, the person said.
Officials say Paddock had been stockpiling guns since 1982 and bought 33 firearms in the last year.
Jill Snyder, the special agent in charge at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, tells "CBS This Morning" on Wednesday that Paddock purchased 33 firearms, mostly rifles, between October 2016 and Sept. 28, three days before he opened fire on a concert crowd. The attack killed 58 people and wounded more than 500.
Snyder said authorities wouldn't get notified of the purchase of rifles, but would get notified if there was a multiple sale of two or more handguns in one purchase.
Snyder said Paddock had rigged 12 semi-automatic rifles with devices that allowed the guns to fire like an automatic weapon.
First Responders Describe Moments During, After Las Vegas Shooting
Investigators are getting a clearer picture of the massacre's timeline. From the first shots that rang out, it took officers 75 minutes to find Paddock dead in his room. The gunfire had lasted 10 minutes, and it took officers 12 minutes to reach the 32nd floor suite at the Mandalay Bay Hotel & Resort.
The time between officers' arrival and finding Paddock's body became a barricade situation due to the discovery of cases Tannerite, an explosive, and 1,600 rounds of ammunition in Paddock's car.
The working theory now is that Paddock had help, and had plans to escape.
With all the weapons and the explosives he had, "do you think this was all accomplished on his own?" Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said. "You gotta make the assumption he had help at some point."
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
