Las Vegas, NV — Nearly six months have passed since Stephen Paddock allegedly opened fire on Las Vegas concertgoers from his room at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, killing 58 and injuring 851. Following persistent Freedom of Information Act requests filed by local media calling for the release of video, surveillance footage of Paddock inside of the hotel has been released, which was first exclusively obtained and published by The New York Times.
Footage from the Las Vegas Mandalay Bay resort shows the hotel’s valet area, elevators, restaurants, gambling floors and hallways, and reveals that Paddock did nothing out of the ordinary in the days leading up to the worst mass shooting in modern American history.
The question of how the alleged killer was able to get so many weapons into his hotel room unnoticed appears to be answered, as the footage clearly shows the hotel staff transport at “least 21 bags over the course of seven days” to Paddock’s room.
“Over and over in the clips, Mr. Paddock is seen leaving the Mandalay Bay for his home in Mesquite, returning with a dark minivan loaded with suitcases,” the Times reported. “Over and over, valets take his keys; over and over, bellhops stack his luggage on gold carts, helping him transport at least 21 bags over the course of seven days. As they take the service elevator upstairs, Mr. Paddock chats with them. He cracks a joke. He tips.”
The video footage shows Paddock alone at the casino, casually blending in with the crowd, eating sushi and at one point raising his arms in victory after winning $1,000 while gambling. Paddock’s only social interactions appear to be with employees at Mandalay Bay as he checks in at the VIP desk, visits the gift shop for snacks and gambles on video poker machines.
MGM Resorts released the following statement:
In the interest of providing greater context around Stephen Paddock’s actions in the days leading up to October 1, MGM Resorts has released these security videos and images. As the security footage demonstrates, Stephen Paddock gave no indication of what he planned to do and his interactions with staff and overall behavior were all normal. MGM and Mandalay Bay could not reasonably foresee that a long-time guest with no known history of threats or violence and behaving in a manner that appeared outwardly normal, would carry out such an inexplicably evil, violent and deadly act.
Our focus continues to be on supporting victims and their families, our guests and employees, and cooperating with law enforcement with their ongoing investigation.