Tuesday, January 16, 2018
Media Completely Ignores New FBI Info suggesting Paddock was a Vegas Arms Dealer
Stephen Paddock sent a series of emails suggesting that he was part of a
group selling "a huge selection" of weapons in the Las Vegas area.
New details have been released from the FBI’s investigation into the Las
Vegas Shooting, and the information from suspect Stephen Paddock’s
email account in the months leading up to the shooting is giving new
insight into why he may have been hoarding two dozen guns in his hotel
room.
The deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history was blamed on one man
within hours, and the FBI has consistently claimed that Paddock was a “lone wolf” shooter who intentionally transported an arsenal of guns, ammunition, and supplies to his hotel room on the 32nd floor
of the Mandalay Bay Hotel, and then unleashed barrage of gunfire from
the bedroom window that killed 58 people and injured more than 500.
While the surveillance footage from Paddock’s stay at the hotel has yet to be released, the newly unsealed court documents are finally giving some insight into his conduct in the months leading up to the shooting on Oct. 1.
An email exchange from centralpark1@live.com, a Microsoft account FBI
agents claimed was used by Paddock, was included in an affidavit reported by
NPR. The date was July 6, 2017—about three months before the
shooting—and while the FBI noted that it is unclear who is
behind centralpark4804@gmail.com, the email account Paddock was
contacting, the information included is significant.
“…[centralpark1@live.com] sent an email to centralpark4804@gmail.com which read, ‘try an ar before u buy. we have huge selection. located in the las vegas area,’ Later the day, an email was received back from centralpark4804@gmail.com to [centralpark1@live.com] that read, ‘we have a wide variety of optics and ammunition to try.’ And lastly, [centralpark1@live.com sent an email to centralpark4804@gmail.comthat read, ‘for a thrill try out bumpfire ar’s with a 100 round magazine.’ Investigators believe these communications may have been related to the eventual attack that occurred at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.”
In the first message, Paddock claimed that the recipient would have the
opportunity to try out the weapons before they purchased them. He then
wrote “We have huge selection,” indicating that he was not working alone, and he said he was located “in the Las Vegas area.”
While Paddock did live in Mesquite, Nevada, and reports claimed
that he was a retired man living with his girlfriend, he made trips to
Las Vegas often to gamble, and those who knew him described him as “low key and relaxed, a good guy.” His past included jobs with the IRS and the Department of Defense.
However, the email exchanges released by the FBI indicate that Paddock
was presenting himself as some sort of arms dealer, sending an email
that said, “for a thrill try out bumpfire ar’s with a 100 round magazine.”
 |
| Consistent with having been a Las Vegas' arms dealer |
The email address Paddock was contacting responded and said, “we have a wide variety of optics and ammunition to try,”
which as the report noted, left investigators wondering if Paddock was
sending test emails to another account he owned, or if he was contacting
another dealer or a customer.
Federal agents were granted warrants to search Paddock’s Facebook,
Instagram and Amazon accounts, along with a locked phone that was found
in the hotel room. These details are the first that have been released
from Paddock’s online communications, and the documents also include
significant details about what the FBI has learned about Paddock’s
girlfriend.
 |
| LVPD crime map surrounding concern area shows no shooting reports |
Within hours of the time police named Stephen Paddock as the suspect in
the shooting, his girlfriend Marilou Danley was also named publicly.
Authorities claimed she was visiting family in the Philippines, and they
ultimately determined that she was not complicit in the massacre.
In addition to reports claiming that Danley told investigators that her
fingerprints may be on some of the bullets stored in Paddock’s home—and
they were—the report from NPR also noted that the timeline of Danley’s
Facebook account suggests that she knew Paddock was involved in
something.
“Mandalay
Bay staff, room service and housekeeping had contact with Paddock or
entered his suite more than 10 times over the course of his stay,
including the three days leading up to October 1. There were numerous
interactions with Stephen Paddock every day at the resort, including a
room service delivery and a call with housekeeping on October 1, all of
which were normal in nature.”
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