Share

October 03, 2017Stephen Paddock, the killer from Las Vegas, may have used an accessory called a 'bump-stock' to accelerate the pace of his firearms. The hypothesis of a modification of the weapons, suggested by several experts after the massacre, seems to be confirmed by the discovery of the object in the room of the hotel in Las Vegas from which Paddock shot. The AP agency reported this, citing sources close to the investigation. It is not clear yet if Paddock has used the bump-stock which substantially allows to circumvent the restrictions on automatic weapons by firing with a semi-automatic type weapon at a speed almost equal to that of the automatics.

The investigations continue unabated. Traces of a fertilizer, ammonium nitrate, which can be used to make bombs, were also found in the killer car. In the house where he lived in Mesquite, which had been bought for 369 thousand dollars in 2015, an even richer arsenal was found than that in the hotel room; also found electronic devices that the police still need to analyze. The search in another house of his in Reno, northern Nevada, did not lead to finding anything interesting. Meanwhile, it delves into the life of the killer, trying to understand the reasons for the gesture, which may perhaps reside in his addiction to gambling.
According to his brother, Eric Paddock, the man had accumulated a fortune in real estate assets, he owned two planes and even several properties scattered throughout the States, a normal person except for his immoderate passion for the game: "A wealthy man. he liked to play video poker, he went on a cruise, "said his brother Eric Paddock.

According to his brother, Paddock had never shown any particular interest in weapons, although - admitted Eric - the two hadn't talked much in the last year. "His life is an open book, it's all recorded. There is nothing, I tell you again: he had gone to college, he had a job". Only the passion of the game was abnormal: "Paddock could play $ 100 for video poker and once he sent me a photo showing that he had won 40 thousand dollars at a slot machine". Even the neighbors of one of his Florida properties told how the man showed them a picture of a 20,000 dollar slot machine. In the last few weeks, he had made a huge number of transactions in Las Vegas, in the order of tens of thousands of dollars: his accounts show transactions for one day for more than 30 thousand dollars, another for over 20 thousand. It is not clear if he had won or lost them.