As the probe into the Las Vegas shooting in which gunman Stephen Craig Paddock shot down 58 people and injured over 500 during a music festival continues, more details regarding the gunman's plans and strategies have been trickling in. It is now being said that investigators are also looking into if Paddock contemplated attacking other areas in the US as well.
Before attacking the festival goers in Vegas, Paddock had also booked rooms in Chicago in August and near the Vegas strip in September. In Chicago, his room overlooked the Lollapalooza festival and in the Vegas strip, the Life is Beautiful show seems to have caught his eye, according to the Associated Press.
However, it is not known if he did plan to attack these areas. Additionally, police are also said to have stumbled upon a mention about the Fenway Park in Boston. Due to these details, investigators are now looking for clues into if Paddock planned more attacks, including a car bombing.
Even though Paddock's brother has earlier mentioned that the gunman has never really shown an affinity towards guns or any group, the 64-year-old had 1,600 rounds of ammunition in his car, and 23 weapons in his hotel room. Paddock also had fertilizers in his car that could be used to make explosives.
While Eric and Paddock's girlfriend Marilou Danley have said that the gunman did not really come across as someone who could carry out such a massacre, a former executive casino host at the Atlantis Casino Resort and Spa in Reno seems to think that there was something odd about him.
Describing that Paddock had a "god complex," the executive said that Paddock always wanted the staff to be at his beck and call and wanted quick service no matter how busy the place was. "He liked everybody to think that he was the guy. He didn't boast about anything he had or anything. It was just his demeanor. It was like, 'I'm here. Don't cross me. Don't look at me too long,'" ," John Weinreich told AP.
The Las Vegas massacre has also dragged Paddock's girlfriend Danley into the investigation even though she was out of the country at the time of the attack. Danley, who was Paddock's partner and lived with him, had earlier been named as a "person of interest" by the police even though they had said that she is unlikely to have a role in the killings. She was in the Philippines visiting her family on the day of the attack.
Danley, through her lawyer, said that the 64-year-old gunman "never said anything to me or took any action" that may have given a hint of the killings he planned. "I loved him and hoped for a quiet future together with him," BBC quoted her as saying. She added that she was shocked at the "horrible unspeakable acts of violence."
The police had earlier said that they would question Danley on her visit to the Philippines as they wondered if Paddock had urged her to leave the US before he went on the rampage. To this the 62-year-old said that Paddock had surprised her with a "cheap ticket" a few days ago to visit her family.
"Like all Filipinos abroad, I was excited to go home and see family and friends. While there, he wired me money which he said was for me to buy a house for me and my family," she said.
The focus shifted to Danley after it came to light that Paddock had transferred $100,000 dollars to her. Answering questions on the wired money 62-year-old Danley said: "I was grateful, but honestly I was worried it was a way for him to break up with me," she said. "It never occurred to me in any way whatsoever that he was planning violence against anyone."
Danley also explained that she has been working with the officials on the probe and will continue doing so.
"I have not made a statement until now because I am cooperating with the authorities. And I voluntarily flew back to America because I knew that the FBI and Las Vegas police department wanted to talk to me - and I wanted to talk to them.
"I will cooperate fully with their investigation, and anything I can do to help ease suffering or help in any way, I will do."
However, Danley refused to answer questions and also refused to talk about the weapons that he had stocked up before the killings.
Danley later also told the FBI that Paddock had developed symptoms of mental health issues and "would lie in bed, just moaning and screaming, "Oh my God,'" an ex-FBI official in the know told the Daily Mail. However, the reason behind the attack is yet to be ascertained.
