Las Vegas shooting: What we know about suspect Stephen Paddock

iStock/Thinkstock(LAS VEGAS) — Stephen Paddock, a 64-year-old resident of Mesquite, Nev., is the man suspected of killing at least 58 people and injuring at least 515 in Las Vegas on Sunday night in what is now believed to be the worst mass shooting in modern US history, but his motive remains a mystery.

The shooter opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino at a large crowd of more than 20,000 concertgoers across the street attending the final night of the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival. Witnesses described the shooting as “nonstop gunfire,” suggesting the use of automatic or semi-automatic weapons.

Police responded to the scene, breached the suspect’s hotel room and found that the shooter, who they believe acted alone, had already killed himself. Two sources familiar with the investigation said police found about 20 weapons – a mix of rifles and handguns — in Paddock’s hotel room.

Investigators are scouring Paddock’s home for clues as to what sparked the deadly rampage. They executed a search warrant using a robot to remove the garage door of his Mesquite residence, where they found additional weapons and ammunition.

But police said Paddock had no criminal history, save a minor citation, so officials had no prior knowledge of his activities.

“We checked the federal and local databases and state databases,” said Sheriff Joseph Lombardo, head of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. “We had no knowledge of this individual.”

Eric Paddock, the suspected shooter’s brother, told ABC News that the family was completely “dumbstruck” by the news, likening the revelation to being “crushed by an asteroid.”

“We have no idea how or why this happened,” Eric said. “As far as we know, Steve was perfectly fine.”

Stephen, he added, was not a man of strong political convictions.

“Steve had nothing to do with any political organization, religious organization, no white supremacist, nothing,” he said.

And while ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, the FBI has not uncovered any connections between the suspect and any foreign terrorist groups.

“The FBI stated there is no apparent tie to international terrorism,” one senior official told ABC News. “Perhaps ISIS is just trying to take credit.”

Yet, for some reason, Paddock apparently checked into his Las Vegas hotel room last Thursday on a well-planned mission to kill, assembling a remarkable arsenal of firearms. Authorities believe the shooter brought the weapons into the hotel on his own and used “a device similar to a hammer” to smash the hotel room windows between him and the crowds below.

Authorities are hoping Paddock’s girlfriend, Marilou Danley, 62, who appears to have lived with Paddock in Mesquite and once worked as a casino hostess for high-end players, can provide some insight. She is currently in the Philippines but expected to return to the US soon.

Paddock’s history offers few hints of violent future. He worked as an accountant or auditor and was at one point employed by a company that later become Lockheed Martin, one of the world’s largest defense contractors.

“Stephen Paddock worked for a predecessor company of Lockheed Martin from 1985 until 1988,” the company tells ABC in a statement. “We’re cooperating with authorities to answer questions they may have about Mr. Paddock and his time with the company.”

He was also a pilot who owned an aircraft that he kept at Mesquite Metro Airport in Texas from 2007 to 2009.

“I do not recall that he was ever a person who created any problems for us,” the airport director told ABC News. “He kept his accounts up to date and we never had any problems with him here.”

Paddock’s only real passion appears to have been gambling. Waitresses at a bar in Mesquite remember Paddock as a regular customer who spent his afternoons playing video poker while drinking shots of Tequila.

Paddock’s brother Eric says Stephen was a multi-millionaire and recently won a $40,000 jackpot.

“He was a wealthy guy who lived to play video poker,” Eric said. “He could do anything he wanted. He played multi-hundred-dollar-hand video poker.”

While the suspect wasn’t familiar to authorities, his name should be. Paddock’s brother told ABC’s Tampa affiliate WFTS-TV that their estranged father, Benjamin Hoskins Paddock, was a notorious bank robber who spent several years on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted Fugitive” list.

A wanted poster circulated in 1969 after his escape from a federal prison facility in Texas described the elder Paddock as a “very dangerous” criminal.

“Diagnosed as psychopathic,” the description reads. “Has carried firearms in commission of bank robberies. He reportedly has suicidal tendencies and should be considered armed and very dangerous.”

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