Las Vegas gunman shot security guard minutes before massacre, police say

By Mark Berman October 9 at 7:34 PM

Authorities investigating the Las Vegas massacre on Monday expressed irritation that after eight days, they have still not determined why a gunman opened fire on concertgoers, killing 58 people and injuring hundreds more in the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history.

“I’m frustrated,” Joseph Lombardo, the Las Vegas sheriff, said at a news briefing. “Because this individual purposefully hid his actions leading up to this event, and it is difficult for us to find answers for those actions.”

During the briefing, Lombardo offered a key update to the shooting timeline that officials previously laid out. Lombardo said that six minutes before the gunman opened fire — shooting at concertgoers far below his 32nd floor suite in the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino — he first shot a hotel security guard and injured him.

Lombardo had previously said that while he did not know what caused Stephen Paddock, the 64-year-old gunman, to stop shooting, he assumed it was due to the security guard’s arrival.

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