ISIS is still saying it carried out the Las Vegas massacre after making a new claim that gunman Stephen Paddock converted to Islam six months ago.
There is no evidence that the terror group was in any way connected to the country music festival atrocity that claimed the lives of 58 people over the weekend and the FBI has explicitly denied there was a link.
But fanatics have again tried to claim that 64-year-old Paddock was a ‘soldier of the Caliphate’ and referred to him by the nom de guerre Abu Abdul Barr al-Amriki, meaning ‘The American’.
ISIS is still saying it carried out the Las Vegas massacre after making a new claim that gunman Stephen Paddock converted to Islam six months ago. It has released a new infographic making the claims – but failed to provide proof of a link
Fanatics have again tried to claim that 64-year-old Stephen Paddock (pictured) was a ‘soldier of the Caliphate’ and referred to him by the nom de guerre Abu Abdul Barr al-Amriki, meaning ‘The American’
Shortly after the slaughter, ISIS’s ‘news agency’ linked the incident to their organisation insisting the attack had been retaliation for the U.S.-led coalition’s fight against ISIS in the Middle East.
But not long after the initial statement by ISIS, the FBI said that the bureau had ‘determined to this point no connection to an international terrorist group.
‘As this investigation continues, we will continue to work with our partner to ensure that this is factually, thoroughly and absolutely investigated, to be able to bring comfort and peace back to this community,’ FBI Special Agent Aaron Rouse said in a statement.
ISIS has now released an infographic about the mass killing taking up the second page of their 16-page weekly newsletter – but without producing any evidence to back up its claims.
A translation of the document by SITE, which monitors terror activity, indicates that it was titled ‘The Las Vegas Invasion.’
Claims: ISIS said in an earlier release that Paddock had ‘converted to Islam a few months ago’ and that he was a ‘soldier of the Islamic State’
His motives remain unclear and Las Vegas Sheriff Joseph Lombardo (pictured) said on Wednesday that the investigation was proceeding cautiously in case criminal charges are warranted against someone else.
It adds: ‘A soldier from the soldiers of the Caliphate targeted a large gathering of 22,000 Americans at a concert in the city of Las Vegas, inflicting nearly 600 killed and wounded.
‘The executor of the operation, Abu Abdul Barr al-Amriki, 64 years old, converted to Islam six months ago.’
Under a sub heading called ‘Method of Execution’, the document adds: ‘The brother Abu Abdul Barr stationed himself for the invasion on the 32nd floor of a hotel overlooking a concert, and opened fire continuously on the crowds using 23 guns and more than 2,000 rounds, and died, may Allah accept him, after exhausting his ammunition.
The hotel where Paddock set up his sniper’s nest is depicted in red in the article.
The document says that the ‘results of the operation’ was ‘panic and confusion of security in America and a number of European countries.’
Investigators are still processing the festival site-turned-crime scene. The FBI warned in the press conference on Wednesday that it would be some time before all of the evidence that was being collected was properly examined
Paddock gunned down 58 as he opened fire on crowds of concert-goers enjoying a festival in Las Vegas on Sunday.
His motives remain unclear and Las Vegas Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said on Wednesday that the investigation was proceeding cautiously in case criminal charges are warranted against someone else.
‘This investigation is not ended with the demise of Mr. Paddock,’ the sheriff said. ‘Did this person get radicalized unbeknownst to us? And we want to identify that source.’
In a further twist, Paddock’s brother Eric revealed earlier this week that he had not spoken to the 64-year-old for six months.
Authorities hunting for a motive behind the carnage are today looking into the possibility that he planned additional attacks, including a car bombing.
In addition, law enforcement was investigating whether Paddock had scoped out other music festivals in Las Vegas and Chicago – and even Boston’s Fenway Park.
Las Vegas police also announced Thursday that they had found a vehicle they had been searching for as part of the investigation into the massacre.