According to a new report, the 25,000 concertgoers at the Route 91 Harvest music festival were not the only targets of Stephen Paddock on Sunday night. From his perch in his hotel room on the 32nd floor of Mandalay Bay hotel and casino, Paddock fired rounds at two massive jet fuel tanks located about 2,000 feet from his location.
The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Wednesday night that a “knowledgeable source” had revealed that large, cylindrical aviation fuel tanks were targeted by Paddock:
The bullets left two holes in one of two circular white tanks. One of the bullets penetrated the tank, but did not cause a fire or explosion near the Route 91 Harvest country music festival, another knowledgeable source said late Wednesday.
The tanks are roughly 1,100 feet from the concert site, where Paddock killed 58 people and wounded almost 500.
The Review-Journal reports that a construction crew has already provided the necessary repairs. Meanwhile, the FBI were able to confirm that the bullets had indeed come from Paddock’s room, some 2,000 feet away.
When the paper reached out for comment, the FBI declined, a spokeswoman saying they “can’t comment on an ongoing investigation.”
Reports have been streaming in over the last few days revealing more details about Paddock’s meticulously planned massacre. Authorities have revealed that he placed cameras both inside his hotel room and in the hall. He had also managed to carry up almost two-dozen guns, including “bump stocks,” which enable semiautomatic weapons to fire more rapidly.
A search of his home in Reno turned up another seven guns. Officials say Paddock purchased 33 guns over the last year.
Authorities still have not provided any motive for Paddock’s actions. The portrait painted so far is one of an extremely wealthy man, who was an avid gambler. He appears to have also been on anxiety medication for at least a year.
His family has expressed shock that he was capable of such an act; his brother has described him as apolitical and non-religious. His only guess at what happened is that Paddock for some reason “snapped.” Paddock’s criminal father appears to have had psychological issues.
Paddock’s live-in girlfriend, Marilou Danley, is a person of interest in the investigation. On Wednesday, she flew back willingly to the States from the Philippines, where she had been staying for the last two weeks, Paddock having purchased a plane ticket for her. In an interview, her sisters insisted she knew nothing about his murderous intentions and suggested that he “sent her away” so he could carry out his horrific plan.