Misc
Brother of Suspected Las Vegas Shooter Speaks out: “He Was Just a Guy”
Eric Paddock — the brother of Stephen Paddock, who is believed to be behind America’s deadliest mass shooting, which took place in Las Vegas in the late hours of the night on Sunday, Oct. 1. While the suspect is dead after taking his own life in a hotel room following the shooting, which left 58 dead and more than 500 injured, his brother spoke out, saying he’s as taken aback by the ordeal as everyone else.
During his first interview, Eric said that his brother was not an avid guy collector, with no military background. “We have no idea how this happened. It’s like an asteroid just fell on top of our family,” the 55-year-old said from his home in Orlando. “There is no reason we can imagine why Stephen would do something like this. All we can do is send our condolences to the people who died. Just no reason, no warning.”
“Not an avid gun guy at all…where the hell did he get automatic weapons? He has no military background,” gunman’s brother says pic.twitter.com/EMSKLQGYFM
— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 2, 2017
In the same interview, he said he was “dumbfounded” at the shooting. “He was just a guy. Something happened, he snapped or something. We know absolutely nothing. This is just — we are dumbfounded,” he said. “Our family is OK. We’re sitting in here in our house hoping that everyone doesn’t attack us. My mother is 90 years old, lives down the street from me, we’re just completely dumbfounded. You can imagine how this is affecting her… There’s no rhyme or reason here, it makes no sense. He has no political affiliation, no religious affiliation, as far as we know. This wasn’t a terror attack.”
The attack took place in the late hours of the night on Sunday, when a lone gunman — believed to be Paddock — opened fire on a country music festival below from his 32-floor room at the Mandolay Bay hotel. So far, no motive for the crime has been revealed.
If you are looking for a missing loved one, authorities have urged people to please call 1-866-535-5654. There is also a crisis response page on Facebook.
