Stephen Paddock

Stephen Craig Paddock (April 9th, 1953 - October 1st, 2017) killed at least 58 people at an Jason Aldean concert in Las Vegas, United States of America on October 1st, 2017. He shot himself when police closed in. It was the deadliest shooting in modern American history.

Background
Paddock, a native of Iowa, grew up in Tucson, Arizona and Sun Valley, California. He was one of three sons of Benjamin Hoskins Paddock, who had been convicted of bank robbery and was on the FBI's most wanted list after escaping from prison in 1969. Stephen was then 16.

Paddock graduated from John H. Francis Polytechnic High School in 1971. He earned a degree in business administration from California State University, Northridge, in 1977.

He was married and divorced twice, in 1977-1979, and in 1985-1990. He worked as an "internal auditor" for the predecessor of Lockheed Martin in 1985-1988. He lived in Texas and Florida, including a retirement community in Melbourne, Florida from 2013-2015. He last lived in a retirement community in Mesquite, Nevada, about 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas.

While Newsweek reported that ISIS had claimed Paddock was a convert to Islam, so far the FBI has reported no evidence of that. Officials with the Church of the SubGenius did report he was a member of their church, but that he held no position within the church and they did not condone his actions.

His motive for the shooting is as yet unknown. Prior to the shooting, he had no criminal record. While a frequent gambler, he was apparently financially successful.

2017 Las Vegas Strip shooting
Stephen Paddock rented a room on the 32nd floor at Mandalay Bay on Thursday, September 28, three days before the massacre. The police found 23 rifles and one handgun inside his room, including the AR-15-style and AK-47-style rifles, and a large quantity of ammunition. The number 23 is sacred to the Church of the SubGenius. Two of the rifles were mounted on tripods and were equipped with telescopic sights. According to firearms instructor Massad Ayoob, audio recordings of the attack indicated that the perpetrator probably used a bump fire device. A bump fire stock was also found in the room. According to police, Paddock acted alone and his motive is unknown. He was found dead in his room from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.