Real Crime/Paranormal/Conspiracy Theories Book III

Stephen Paddock: Las Vegas Massacre

Stephen Craig Paddock (April 9,1953 – October 1, 2017)was an American mass murderer who is knownfor being the perpetrator of the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, in which heopened fire into a crowd of approximately 22,000 concertgoersattending a country music festival on the Las Vegas Strip. Theincident is the deadliest mass shooting by a lone shooter in UnitedStates history, with 61 fatalities (including Paddock) and 867injuries, 411 of them by gunfire. Paddock committed suicide in hishotel room shortly after the shooting.

Paddock lived in Mesquite, Nevada, andwas a real-estate investor, property manager, retired accountant,amateur pilot, and avid video poker gambler.

Early years and education

Paddock was born in Clinton, Iowa. Thefamily lived in Clinton at the time. He grew up in Tucson, Arizona,and the Sun Valley neighborhood of Los Angeles, as the oldest of foursons of Benjamin Paddock. Benjamin was a bank robber who wasarrested in 1960 when Stephen was seven years old. Benjamin was laterconvicted and escaped prison in 1969, subsequently appearing on theFBI's most-wanted list. According to Stephen's brother Eric, "hewas never with my mom", and Stephen had "limitedinteraction" with Benjamin following the latter's releasefrom prison. According to one of Paddock's ex-wives in a policeinterview, he had spoken about how growing up with a single motherand the family's financial instability caused him to prioritize beingself-reliant and self-sustaining.

Paddock attended Richard E. Byrd MiddleSchool and Sun Valley High School, graduated from John H. FrancisPolytechnic High School in 1971, and graduated California StateUniversity, Northridge in 1977, with a degree in businessadministration.

Career and gambling

Paddock worked as a letter carrier forthe U.S. Postal Service from 1975 to 1978. After that, he worked asan Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agent until 1984. He was a DefenseContract Audit Agency auditor for one year, in 1985. Toward the endof the 1980s, Paddock worked for three years as an internal auditorfor a company that later merged to form Lockheed Martin. He is knownto have run a real-estate business with his brother Eric.

Paddock lived in the Greater LosAngeles Area and owned personal property in Panorama City, Cerritos,and North Hollywood from the 1970s to early 2000s. He also owned twoapartment buildings in Hawthorne, California. In addition, he ownedan apartment complex in Mesquite, Texas, which he sold in 2012.

Relatives said Paddock was worth atleast US$2 million when he sold off the real-estate business. Amonghis most profitable investments was an apartment complex purchased in2004, which gave him more than $500,000 in annual income by 2011. IRSrecords show he made $5–6 million in profits from its sale in 2015.

Paddock was an avid gambler, andalthough the extent to which he profited from it is not clear, hisreported gambling winnings might have been substantial. He wassometimes seen in high-limit rooms, but he was not well known amonghigh-stakes gamblers in Las Vegas and was not considered a "whale"(high roller) by the casinos. His game of choice was video poker,which he had played for over 25 years. He usually gambled after darkand slept during the day; he disliked being out in the sun.

Personal life

Paddock was married and divorced twice.He was first married from 1977 to 1979, and for the second time from1985 to 1990, both marriages in Los Angeles County, California. Family members say he stayed on good terms with his ex-wives. Hisbrother Eric said that Stephen had no political or religiousaffiliations of any kind.