The brother of the Las Vegas shooter has broken down sobbing saying he hopes they find a tumor in his brain in an attempt to explain why he would carry out the horrific massacre.
Eric Paddock, who spoke to reporters outside his Florida home on Tuesday, said his brother Stephen was a normal guy and he could not explain what would have caused him to go on the shooting rampage on Sunday night.
‘My heart is torn… is destroyed for all of these people. But I can’t tell you why Steve did what he did. It’s so far over the side of the cliff from the Steve that I knew,’ he said.
Eric Paddock, the brother of the Las Vegas shooter, has broken down sobbing saying he hopes they find a tumor in his brain in an attempt to explain why he would carry out the horrific massacre
‘When Steve can do this we’re in deep s**t because there’s just nothing there. I hope to hell they find when they do an autopsy that there’s a tumor in his head or something because if they don’t we’re all in trouble.
‘This crying thing is not my normal gig. I can’t even process this yet really. I woke up this morning crying.’
Investigators trying to figure out why Paddock gunned down 59 people from his Mandalay Bay hotel suite are now analyzing his computer and cellphone, looking at casino surveillance footage and seeking to interview his longtime girlfriend.
Nearly two days after the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history, what set off the 64-year-old high-rolling gambler and retired accountant remained a big question mark Tuesday.
Eric Paddock (left in an undated photo) said his brother Stephen (right) was a normal guy and he could not explain what would have caused him to go on the shooting rampage
Inside the nest: The smashed windows from the suite taken out by Paddock at the Mandalay Hotel in Las Vegas
While the probe into his background included searches of two houses he owned in Nevada, some investigators turned their focus from the shooter’s perch to the killing grounds outside the Mandalay Bay hotel casino where his victims fell.
A dozen investigators, most in FBI jackets and all wearing blue booties to avoid contaminating evidence, entered the festival site where gunfire erupted Sunday night and country music gave way to screams of pain and terror.
Paddock killed himself before a SWAT team blew off the door of his room on the 32nd floor. He had 23 guns with him at the hotel – along with devices that can enable a rifle to fire continuously, like an automatic – and 19 more guns at one of his homes, authorities said.
More than 500 people were injured in the rampage, some by gunfire, some during the chaotic escape. At least 45 patients at two hospitals remained in critical condition.
People scramble over barriers to get to safety as the gunfire rages on at the Las Vegas event
Paddock had a business degree from Cal State Northridge. In the 190s and ’80s, he worked as a mail carrier and an IRS agent and held down an auditing job in the Defense Department, according to the government. He later worked for a defense contractor.
He had no known criminal record, and public records showed no signs of financial troubles, though he was said to be a big gambler.
‘No affiliation, no religion, no politics. He never cared about any of that stuff,’ his brother, Eric, said outside his Florida home.
Danley is expected to speak with detectives when she returns to the U.S. from out of the country.
The FBI discounted the possibility of international terrorism early on, even after the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack.