Investigators Say Las Vegas Shooter Planned to Escape after Attack

Although they are still searching for a motive, police have uncovered more details about the man responsible for the Las Vegas shooting.

Sixty-four-year-old Stephen Paddock was described by his brother as having no political or religious affiliations. Neighbors described the wealthy Nevada resident as reserved and unremarkable.

Investigators have been working to uncover a possible motive for the horrific act of violence Paddock carried out on Sunday, October 1, but have yet to find anything conclusive or even probable.

They have, however, discovered that Paddock was prescribed the anti-anxiety drug Valium in June, reports the Washington Examiner. A possible side effect of Valium is aggressive behavior, which could have been a factor in Paddock’s attack.

"If somebody has an underlying aggression problem and you sedate them with that drug, they can become aggressive," said Dr. Mel Pohl, chief medical officer of the Las Vegas Recovery Center. "It can disinhibit an underlying emotional state. ... It is much like what happens when you give alcohol to some people ... they become aggressive instead of going to sleep." 

Police also questioned Paddock’s girlfriend Marilou Danley who was in the Philippines, her home country, at the time of the shooting. Danley has said she had no indication Paddock was planning such an horrific event.

“I knew Stephen Paddock as a kind, caring, quiet man,” said Danley in a statement read by her lawyer Matthew Lombard, according to the Washington Post. “He never said anything to me or took any action that I was aware of that I understood in any way to be a warning that something horrible like this was going to happen.”

Police also now believe that Paddock planned on surviving and escaping after the attack. According to FoxNews.com, however, police said they could not reveal at this time what kind of evidence they found to suggest this.

“What we know is Stephen Paddock is a man who spent decades acquiring weapons and ammo and living a secret life, much of which will never be fully understood,” stated Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo.

Photo: Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo briefs reporters on the ongoing investigation into Sunday night's mass shooting, at Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department headquarters, October 3, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada.The gunman, identified as Stephen Paddock, 64, of Mesquite, Nevada, allegedly opened fire from a room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino on the Route 91 Harvest Festival, a three-day country music festival, leaving at least 58 people dead and over 500 injured. According to reports, Paddock killed himself at the scene. The massacre is one of the deadliest mass shooting events in U.S. history.

Photo courtesy: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Publication date: October 5, 2017