The FBI released documents last week that suggested Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock was motivated to commit a mass shooting because casinos treated him poorly.
The FBI’s recently revealed documents — uncovered by the Wall Street Journal — shed more light on Paddock’s relationship with gambling and casinos.
According to interviews with an unnamed associate, Paddock was incensed by the loss of status and perks that high rollers received at casinos.
“He was very upset at the way casinos were treating him and other high rollers,” the associate said, according to the Washington Examiner, adding that the perceived disrespect could have been what set Paddock off.
The associate also said that the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, in particular, had cut Paddock off from perks such as free cruises, flights, suites, and luxury cars.
Despite the indication that Paddock’s gambling habits and soured relationship with casinos might have influenced his decision to commit the atrocity, the FBI documents did not declare a definite motive.
On October 1, 2017, Paddock opened fire on a crowd of country music fans at a Jason Aldean concert.
He shot from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, firing more than 1,000 rounds from multiple firearms from the elevated perch. He left notes showing that he had calculated wind, distance, and elevation to maximize casualties.
Police recovered twenty-four firearms from rooms at the casino registered to Paddock, most of them ArmaLite rifles of various calibers. The police also recovered bump stocks, devices that allowed Paddock to shoot ninety rounds in ten seconds.
The attack remains the deadliest mass shooting in American history. Including Paddock, who committed suicide before police found him, 59 people were killed in the attack, 413 were wounded by his gunfire, and another 454 were injured in the ensuing chaos.
The shooting shocked the nation. Then-President Donald Trump visited Las Vegas first responders three days later, and then-Vice President Mike Pence visited Las Vegas on October 7, 2017, to lead a prayer walk.
A search for the motive bore few results, leaving the country with more questions than answers in the aftermath of the attack.
The Washington Examiner reported that Paddock had lost a significant sum of money in casinos two years before the shooting occurred.
