Las Vegas Shooting

[Allison]

I can't imagine he allowed housekeeping in there. So much for Disney's program to refuse housekeeping for an entire stay in return for a gift card.

I don't think that will change. It isn't like housekeeping is going to be going through people's belongings to search for weapons.

 

[cabanafrau]

I can't imagine he allowed housekeeping in there. So much for Disney's program to refuse housekeeping for an entire stay in return for a gift card.

Interestingly a few CET Vegas hotels have been tinkering with offering a daily voucher for declining housekeeping. Mandalay is part of the MGM chain and therefore not a part of the offer however.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

This report quoting NBC states Paddock was married and going through a divorce.

It turns out he's been divorced over 20+ years.

 

[Magpie]

The other dynamic that makes this very different than the 1966 Texas Tower shooter incident is the fact that within a few minutes of that killer (Charles Whitman) starting to shoot, dozens of civilians in Austin -- many of whom regularly carried firearms -- started shooting back at him, which forced Whitman to hunker down and significantly limited the bloodshed compared to what happened in Vegas last night.

Given how hard it would have been to identify which hotel room window the bullets were coming from, and how hard it would be to hit the correct window, even if you knew which one you were aiming at... And then you have everyone inside the hotel who naturally would walk up to their window to see what was going on... Not to mention a shooter who may not even have needed to look outside to fire, so whether or not he "hunkered down" wouldn't have done much to keep him from spraying bullets into the crowd below (he wasn't aiming at individuals)...

All in all, I'm just very glad dozens of civilians didn't start firing back at the hotel, and at the people within it.

 

[wonder whisper]

More details have just come out on the weaponry used by the killer in this horrific attack. AP has reported that two of the rifles he had were semi-automatic models (likely AR-15s) which had "bump stock" modifications, which allows them to in essence be "tricked" into full automatic mode when fired. Here's the report:

https://apnews.com/e74a33083fb84b1b...gunman-used-'bump-stock'-device-to-speed-fire

 

[wonder whisper]

It turns out he's been divorced over 20+ years.

Thank you for the clarification. Presumably, investigators have tracked down and are interviewing the ex wife.

 

[nd5056]

I praised the Police for narrowing down on the suspect's location quickly. Now I know how they were able to:

How police found the Las Vegas shooter so quickly

It wasn’t the hundreds of muzzle flashes that exploded from the shooter’s automatic rifles that gave away his position. Nor was it the panicked 911 calls from people reporting the rhythmic thundering of gunfire.

It was the smoke. As the gunman, identified as Stephen Paddock, set off round after round, gun smoke filled his room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel, said Randy Sutton, a retired lieutenant with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, citing police sources.

The SWAT team used the alarm triggered by the smoke to zero in on Paddock’s position in about 20 minutes — not nearly enough time for a floor-by-floor search of the hotel, which has 3,309 rooms and a 135,000-square-foot Casino.

After they located his room, the SWAT team members used explosives to get inside, the sheriff’s office said. Paddock, 64, killed himself before the officers entered, according to Las Vegas Sheriff Joe Lombardo.
...

 

[erin1715]

I know I read something yesterday that said hotel staff (housekeeping?) were in that room before the shooting (not sure how long before) and noticed nothing suspicious. Of course, the news was coming so fast and furious yesterday that that could have been wrong information.

They also said on the news last night that they were trying to reach his girlfriend, as she would probably have the best insight into what was going on with him. When the news interviewed his brother, to me it didn't sound like they were terribly close so I'm not sure he could give an accurate portrayal of this guy.

 

[bcla]

We stayed at Zcirvus Circus last month and didn’t see any of that, I saw no security and there was no keys required to use the lifts.

This was back in 2006 and we were staying in the main tower.

 

[cdnjason]

Sunday evening, my wife and I took our daughters down to the strip to watch the Vegas Golden Knights hockey game. Thankfully, we were home safe before the tragedy occurred. I awoke yesterday morning at 4am to a blast of text messages from loving friends all over the country asking if we were okay. Not knowing what had occurred, I didn't know what they were talking about. The moment I got online, I learned of the tragedy. I kissed my wife and daughters, thankful they were in bed, sleeping safe and sound. Then, I started to learn of people I know who were not so fortunate.

As a Las Vegan, yesterday was very difficult. I stopped mid-task several times and cried. I am still hurting this morning. Sad for the people who experienced this horrible event. But, I am very proud of our community. We all got together yesterday to do what we could to help. My wife and I brought food and drinks to the responders who couldn't take a break to go eat. It helped deal with the pain. Still wish we could do more. We'll see what today brings.

 

[wonder whisper]

Given how hard it would have been to identify which hotel room window the bullets were coming from, and how hard it would be to hit the correct window, even if you knew which one you were aiming at... And then you have everyone inside the hotel who naturally would walk up to their window to see what was going on... Not to mention a shooter who may not even have needed to look outside to fire, so whether or not he "hunkered down" wouldn't have done much to keep him from spraying bullets into the crowd below (he wasn't aiming at individuals)...

All in all, I'm just very glad dozens of civilians didn't start firing back at the hotel, and at the people within it.

I wasn't implying that civilians in this instance should have started shooting at the hotel. Rather, I was pointing out that comparing the 1966 Texas Tower shootings to what just happened in Vegas is an exercise in apples to oranges.

The Texas incident did not involve attacking a mass crowd with automatic weapons. And due to the presence of armed civilians and the fact the location of shooter was readily discernible, the response to it was more rapid than the one in Vegas. Civilians and police began firing back at the Texas shooter within 15 minutes of the start of his attack, which forced him to hunker down and limited his ability to locate and shoot at targets. It took authorities in Vegas over 70 minutes to locate the shooter and end his rampage.

That's not a criticism of the first responders in Vegas, but rather recognition that the situation they were dealing with was larger and more complex than the one in Texas back in 1966.

 

[Party.Of.4-NY>>>FL]

Even if fully assembled, one would just need a big enough case to move a rifle. I would imagine large luggage isn't all that unusual in Vegas.

Kind of like a golf bag. Wouldn't be all that unusual to see someone carrying a golf bag while on vacation in Las Vegas

 

[Pea-n-Me]

It turns out he's been divorced over 20+ years.

Did anyone else see that his father was on the Most Wanted List at one time and that he was a diagnosed sociopath? I thought that was an interesting family history.

 

[HarperLeigh]

Did anyone else see that his father was on the Most Wanted List at one time and that he was a diagnosed sociopath? I thought that was an interesting family history.

Psychopath. Since his father was born locally, our news has been all over it.

 

[msjprincess]

I don't think that will change. It isn't like housekeeping is going to be going through people's belongings to search for weapons.

MTE

I've read that housekeeping was in his room and didn't notice anything out of place. If he had them in bags no one is going to look through his bags.

 

[wenrob]

I praised the Police for narrowing down on the suspect's location quickly. Now I know how they were able to:

At about 22:30 the Sheriff describes how they were able to locate him. What you posted is a theory.

 

[wonder whisper]

I want to know more about the several wives he had. His first marriage apparently ended in 1980. There then was a second marriage, from 1984 to 1990, to a woman who now lives in Cerritos, CA. I presume investigators have gotten to one or both women (assuming the first is still alive). I have yet to find any media outlet that as done any digging into this tangent of his life history beyond searching public records.

Authorities and family all refer to his current partner Marilou Danley as a "girlfriend." There are conflicting reports as to whether or not she has already been ruled out as a suspect in what happened.

 

[dclpluto]

MTE

I've read that housekeeping was in his room and didn't notice anything out of place. If he had them in bags no one is going to look through his bags.

Except for that housekeeper at old key west

 

[msjprincess]

Except for that housekeeper at old key west

Yeah, well that'a a whole different issue. LOL

 

[TLSnell1981]

Given how hard it would have been to identify which hotel room window the bullets were coming from, and how hard it would be to hit the correct window, even if you knew which one you were aiming at... And then you have everyone inside the hotel who naturally would walk up to their window to see what was going on... Not to mention a shooter who may not even have needed to look outside to fire, so whether or not he "hunkered down" wouldn't have done much to keep him from spraying bullets into the crowd below (he wasn't aiming at individuals)...

All in all, I'm just very glad dozens of civilians didn't start firing back at the hotel, and at the people within it.

Wouldn't have been difficult to determine which "window" because they don't open in Mandalay suites. They were shot out..big gapping holes in the side of the building.