Police are investigating the possibility that Las Vegas mass murderer Stephen Paddock may have originally targeted another music festival in the city.
Paddock had apparently attempted to book rooms at the Ogden, a luxury condo tower that overlooked the Life is Beautiful open-air festival, which ran across 15 Las Vegas blocks from September 22-24.
He requested specific suites at the Ogden and another unidentified hotel, but moved on when he discovered they were booked, an inside source told CBS.
That raises the grim possibility that he’d intended to turn either location into sniper nests, like the one he built in the Mandalay Bay hotel on Sunday, prior to his horrific killing spree.
Vegas killer Stephen Paddock (pictured left in undated photo; seen right after committing suicide after his Sunday killing spree, surrounded by guns), who shot up a country music festival, may have targeted another festival last month, cops say
Police are investigating the possibility that he had initially planned to shoot at the Life is Beautiful Festival (pictured), which was held across 15 blocks of Downtown Vegas from 22-24 September. On Sunday he attacked the Route 91 Harvest music fest
Police sources say he attempted to rent specific condos at the Ogden and another unnamed hotel overlooking the festival (which occupied the blocks within the blue lines)
Had he fired on the festival, he could have reached the main stage, where Chance the Rapper (left) and Lorde (right; both pictured at the fest) performed. Around 45,000 people a day attended; there were 22,000 at the festival he attacked Sunday
The source speculated that Paddock may have attempted to book a room that would provide a strategic view over the event.
It’s not known exactly which condo he tried to book at the Ogden, but one on its eastern corner would have overlooked most of the festival.
The building is only 21 stories tall, whereas the rooms he booked in the Mandalay Bay hotel were on the 32nd floor of that building.
That would likely have changed the distance he would have been able to fire, but had he cleared the 330 yards fired on Sunday, he could have struck 11 of the festival’s 15 blocks, including those housing the Huntridge and Downtown stages.
Among the bands playing on those stages at this year’s festival were Chance the Rapper, Muse, Lorde, The XX and Gorillaz. This year the festival attracted 45,000 people per day.
An advertising feature boasting that the Ogden was ‘at the center of Life is Beautiful’ ran in the Las Vegas Review-Journal at the time of the event.
‘The Ogden’s proximity to the festival’s activities validates the truth behind the saying, “location is everything,”‘ Stephanie Reese, director of sales at The Ogden, is quoted as saying.
Life is Beautiful took place around five-and-a-half miles northeast of Sunday’s massacre.
This is the view of the festival in 2016 from The Ogden. An earlier report said the Paddock had successfully rented condos there, and it was speculated he may have got cold feet, but a later source said the rooms were booked up
The Odgen itself (pictured) promoted itself as being at the heart of Life is Beautiful during the festival, which took place on the blocks at the rear of this photo, to the left and right
In Sunday’s massacre Paddock used two windows on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel to fire on crowds at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival. The Ogden only has 21 floors, so that may have limited his range if he’d fired there
Paddock turned two suites into a single sniper’s nest, firing from two positions to maximize damage. A SWAT team blew open his door to find he’d shot himself. He was surrounded by 23 guns, mostly rifles, some functionally automatic and with scopes
The Daily Beast was the first to report Paddock’s alleged interest in The Ogden. Their source, speaking before CBS’s lead came forward, suggested he had successfully booked ‘multiple condos’.
The source said that Paddock may have lost his nerve or changed his plans for some other reason before setting up a kill zone outside the Mandalay Bay.
The Ogden has 275 suites ranging in size from 815 to over 2,000 square feet; there is currently a single one-bedroom suite available for rent for $1,850 per month, according to Zillow.
The two available condos for sale cost $290,000 for one bedroom and $419,000 for two bedrooms.
The Daily Beast, which earlier reported the Ogden connection, said that he had managed to rent ‘multiple condos’
The Life is Beautiful Festival declined to comment, citing the ongoing investigation.
Melissa Warren, public affairs officer for Fais Foley Warren, owner of the Ogden, told The Daily Beast: ‘We’re not in a position to confirm or deny anything about Mr Paddock’s dealings.
‘I suggest you contact Metro [police]. As you know this is an ongoing investigation.’
Festivalgoers watch Chance The Rapper perform on Downtown Stage during day 1 of the 2017 Life Is Beautiful Festival on September 22
This is the carnage that occurred on Sunday, as festivalgoers scrambled over barriers to escape the fire raining down from the sky, killing 59 people and injuring 527 others
Paddock’s killing spree saw him firing thousands of rounds from two suites at the Mandalay Bay hotel onto the Route 91 Harvest country music festival.
He fired for nine minutes on the crowd of 22,000 from two windows, which he’d broken through with a hammer before the attacks.
A security guard who interrupted his spree was shot in the leg but survived; police were notified of that at at 10:28pm.
A SWAT team blew open the door to the 64-year-old’s room just under an hour later to find that he had shot himself.
Around him lay 23 guns, mostly rifles. Two rifles on the floor next to his body had bipods. At least one of the guns there was fully automatic.
And at least two weapons were modified with ‘bump-stocks’ that allow the gun to bounce back and forth on the shooter’s finger, effectively – if not technically – turning it into an automatic weapon.
He had also set up cameras inside and outside the room, apparently both to film his shooting spree and to notify him of police in the hallway. That footage is now under review by the FBI.
At his home police found a further 19 weapons, along with explosives in the form of Tannerite – which is used to make exploding targets for shooting – and as-yet-unidentified electronic devices.
Paddock’s brother, Eric, said his brother had no political or religious affiliations, no military training and no mental illnesses.
The only notable aspect of his brother’s life appeared to be an addiction to gambling; Paddock considered himself a professional gambler and would play high-stakes video poker, among other games.
He spent more than $160,000 on gambling in the weeks before his death, but it’s not clear how much he lost and how much he won.
He also sent $100,000 to his live-in girlfriend, Marilou Danley, 62, who is currently returning to the US from the Philippines.
She is now a person of interest to the police thanks to the discovery of the money transfer; she had previously been downgraded from a person of interest on Monday, as it emerged she was in the far East at the time of the shooting.
As far as he was aware, Eric said, Paddock only possessed two handguns – and ‘maybe a rifle’ – that he kept in a safe.
Police have still not yet determined a motive for the attack.
VEGAS GUNMAN’S DEVASTATING ARSENAL REVEALED
Las Vegas butcher Stephen Paddock amassed 42 firearms before carrying out his massacre, 23 of which were found inside the hotel room he used for his massacre.
The majority of those weapons were rifles, though at least one was a handgun.
Two rifles had been modified with tripods and scopes, greatly increasing their accuracy, and at least two had been modified to allow for something close to fully-automatic fire.
Thousands of rounds of ammunition were also found, ranging in caliber from .223 – similar to 5.56 rounds which are standard for NATO troops – to .308, which are typically used for hunting rifles.
While the exact extent of Paddock’s cache is not yet clear, we know it included:
1) Four DDM4 rifles, the LA Times reports. Manufactured by Daniel Defense, the rifle features a muzzle flash suppressor, making it harder to tell where the weapon is being fired from. It also has a freefloat rail allowing for a variety of attachments including scopes and grips to enhance stability. The rifle costs $1,900 if bought new
Four DDM4 rifles – made by Daniel Defense – were among the 23 weapons found in Paddock’s hotel room by the SWAT team after they busted in. They sell for around $1,700
2) Three FN-15 rifles. Made by FN America, they also feature a muzzle flash suppressor and ‘H buffer system’, which reduces recoil and increases accuracy. FN-15 refers to a series of rifles, rather than a specific weapon, which range from smaller carbines to replicas of the military-issue M16. It is not known exactly which version was owned by Paddock. They range in price from $1,000 to $2,000, if bought new
Also in his terrifying arsenal were three of these FN-15 rifles, as well as guns made by Sig Sauer. Some of the semi-automatic guns had been fitted with bump-stocks that allow for, essentially, fully automatic fire. They’re priced around $1,300
3) At least one AK-47. A Russian-designed assault rifle, it was used by the country’s military from 1945 and is still used by armies and rebel groups around the world. Known for its simplicity and reliability, it fires 7.62x39mm rounds which makes it less accurate but more devastating than other semi-automatic rifles. It can retail for as little as $600
An AK-47 was also found in the room with the other weapons. AKs can come with fully automatic fire functions, but it’s not known if that was the case here. AKs vary in price depending on the manufacturer, but cost around $1,000
4) At least one Colt AR-15. This rifle is known as the most popular in America, with an estimated 8million in homes around the country. It is also gaining a dubious reputation as the weapon of choice for mass shooters, from movie theatre killer James Holmes to San Bernardino terrorist Omar Mateen
A Colt AR-15 was also found in the room. Such weapons are semi-automatic when bought legally and cost around $1,000. At least one full-auto weapon was found, but it’s not known if it was modified or had that function when manufactured
5) Two ‘bump stocks’. While not weapons in themselves, these stocks modify semi-automatic weapons allowing for something close to fully-automatic fire. They fit over the stock of a semi-auto rifle, and function by allowing the weapon to ‘bump’ back and forth as it is fired using the weapon’s recoil. Each bump brings the user’s finger down on the trigger, firing a round. This allows users to skirt around regulations prohibiting fully-automatic weapons.
