I’m so freaked out over the Vegas Massacre. There’s so much we don’t know… and so much they’re not telling us.
Yesterday there were reports that a second shooter was arrested…. that wasn’t the case.
During a tense and at times emotional press conference held on Friday, Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo offered a third timeline of the Las Vegas massacre, saying there was no six-minute gap between when the gunman shot a hotel security guard and opened fire on concertgoers.
Lombardo, who is in charge of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, also revealed that Stephen Paddock deliberately fired on responding police officers, possibly to keep them at bay, but said there is no evidence that he was driven by ideology, or was affiliated with any group.
As of 8am on Friday, the number of injured victims was 546 but only 45 of them were still hospitalized, some in critical condition.
The rest have been discharged.
A visibly shaken Sheriff Lombardo choked up talking about one of the victims, Metro Police officer Brady Cook, who he said suffered four gunshot wounds in the mass shooting but asked to return to work this morning.
My thoughts and prayers go out to those 45 and their families.
And THEN we get in to the weird stuff:
According to the sheriff, it is believed that Paddock, 64, intentionally fired upon jet fuel tanks near McCarran Airport.
‘I have been advised there is a very low probably that aviation fuel could be ignited by gunfire,’ Lombardo stated.
Seeking to clear up the confusion surrounding the timeline of the events, which has been revised multiple times since the October 1 massacre, Lombrado said he continues to stand by the latest chronology, according to which the incident began unfolding at 9.59pm on October 1.
MGM Resorts International, which owns the Mandalay Bay, released a statement Thursday questioning that timeline because it suggested that hotel security guard Jesus Campos, who was shot and wounded by Paddock, may have waited up to six minutes to report the attack.
Hotel officials claimed it was no more than 40 seconds between the time Campos used his walkie talkie to call for help and Paddock opening fire from his arsenal of weapons on 20,000 concertgoers at the Route 91 Harvest Festival across the street.
On Friday, the sheriff said he was ‘very well aware of the MGM statement’ and that he was not in conflict with it.
So they’re no longer saying the security guard was shot a while before the gunman opened fire on the concert… it all sort of happened simultaneously.
Lombardo sought to clarify the timeline, saying that at 9.59pm, Jesus Campos encountered a barricaded stairwell door and had to ascend to another level in order to reach the 32nd floor where Paddock’s room was located.
According to the sheriff, the security guard was shot in the leg ‘closer to 10.05pm,’ at which time he radioed in shots fired and also called on his cellphone to report the incident.
Lombardo added that 10.05pm was also when ‘the majority of the fire started,’ referring to the shooting targeting the country music festival.
SO AS OF NOW, here’s the timeline they’re sticking with:
NEW TIMELINE
9:59pm: Campos approaches Paddock’s room looking for an alarm going off at a door nearby – likely from the stairwell. He encounters a barricaded door and makes his way to 32nd floor.
10:05pm: Campos is shot and wounded in the leg. He radios and calls in incident as gunman opens fire on concert.
10:12pm: First two officers arrive on the 31st floor.
10:15pm: The last shots are fired from the suspect for reasons unknown.
10:17pm: The first two officers arrive on the 32nd floor from the 31st.
10:26-10:30pm: With Paddock quiet, eight more cops arrive and they decide to evacuate the rooms on the floor.
10:55pm: Eight officers arrive in the stairwell next to the suspect’s room and find the door tampered with and a camera on a room service cart outside; they decide to hold off.
11:20pm: Paddock’s room is breached and police enter the room to find him dead.
Here’s the whole thing. I’ve never seen him look this flustered.
Again, no motive. None at all.