The man suspected of opening fire at concertgoers attending a country music festival in Las Vegas on Sunday night was a local resident with no prior criminal convictions in the state of Nevada.
Stephen Paddock, 64, lived just 90 minutes outside Las Vegas in the city of Mesquite, where he purchased a home in a retirement community for just over $369,000 in 2015 according to public records.
He lived there with his 62-year-old girlfriend Marilou Danley, the same woman police announced they were seeking to question on Sunday night as they began their investigation into the horrific terror attack.
Paddock had both hunting and fishing licenses according to public records, as well as his pilot’s license, but no criminal record in the state of Nevada.
The retired accountant had worked as an internal auditor at Lockheed Martin for three years in the late 1980s, and was a manager and investor in apartment complexes located in Mesquite, Texas and California which made him millions according to his brother.
Paddock was also the son of Benjamin Hoskins Paddock, a serial bank robber who ended up on the FBI Most Wanted list back in 1969 when he escaped from federal prison in Texas while serving a 20 years sentence.
The FBI kept him on the list for the next eight years, and he was eventually found one year after he was removed from the list in 1978 while outside an Oregon Bingo hall.
The agency said that the fugitive had been ‘diagnosed as psychopathic’ and also had possible ‘suicidal tendencies.’
PICTURED: The man suspected of killing over 50 people and injuring 200 when he opened fire on concertgoers Sunday night has been identified as Stephen Paddock (Paddock above in undated handout from his brother Eric)
Home: Paddock, 64, lived just 90 minutes outside Las Vegas in the city of Mesquite (above circled in red) , where he bough a home in a retirement community back in 2015
First look: He lived at the $400,000 property (above after the police search on Monday) with Marilou Danley, 62, the same woman police were seeking to locate in the wake of the shooting
Possible clues: Paddock had hunting and fishing licenses as was as his pilot’s license, and may have worked at Lockheed Martin as an auditor according to public records (authorities block of a perimeter around Paddock’s home early Monday)
Paddock had committed suicide by the time police breached the door to the room from which the gunman had opened fire at the Mandalay Bay Resort just after 10pm on Sunday night.
It marked the end of what has now become the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history, which left at least 58 dead and 515 injured.
The attack played out as Jason Aldean performed on stage to close out the third and final day of the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival, which was taking place across the street from the resort.
Over 22,000 people were in attendance at the event, and described the attack as ‘nonstop gunfire,’ which only stopped when the gunman went to reload his weapon.
It is not yet known what weapon or weapons the gunman used in the attack.
Police said in a press conference early Monday that that they discovered in ‘excess of 10 rifles’ in the room, and that Paddock’s death was the result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Law enforcement officials said on Monday that the suspected gunman appears to have acted alone in the attack, despite early reports that stated there may have been multiple shooters on the scene.
Images of the Mandalay Bay Resort taken after the attack show two large windows on the 32nd floor of the building completely blown out.
Paddock had been staying there since last Thursday, arriving on September 28 to the hotel.
Multiple sources who knew Paddock in recent years also revealed on Monday that he spent a good deal of his time gambling, with law enforcement officials stating that in recent weeks he made a number of transactions in Las Vegas that were in the tens of thousands of dollars.
On some days he spent over $30,000, and on others over $20,000 according to an individual who had seen Paddock’s Multiple Currency Transaction Reports.
That source told NBC News that it was unclear however at this time if those transactions were wins or loses for Paddock.
His two favorite things about his new home in Nevada were that it kept him close to the gambling and music scene on The Strip, with country shows a favorite for the suspected gunman.
It was not all good time for Paddock though, as he previously filed a lawsuit against Cosmopolitan Hotels & Resorts in 2012 following an incident that occurred at their Las Vegas casino.
Paddock spent two years in court fighting his case after submitting his initial complaint citing ‘Negligence – Premises Liability.’
It was ultimately dismissed with prejudice in late 2014, and exact details of the case were not available on the Clark County Courts website.
His Mesquite home was searched by officials early Monday, who closed off a large perimeter around the Nevada property to keep the public and media at bay.
That search was completed by early afternoon, at which point police said they would be executing a warrant on one of Paddock’s northern Nevada properties.
Photos of the Mesquite property showed the garage door torn off its hinge and appearing crumpled in front of the house after the search, which yielded more weapons and ammunition according to authorities.
Mystery: Paddock (above with Marilou Danley) was ‘not an avid gunman’ and ‘has no military background’
Paddock purchased a parcel of land and an apartment in Reno a few years before buying his Mesquite home, though he appears to have sold them both in recent years.
In total, Paddock had lived in an astonishing 27 residences in Nevada, Florida and Texas over the course of his adult life.
Authorities said that Danley is not believed to have been an accomplice in the attack after locating her outside the country in the Philippines.
She was married in 1990 to Geary Danley and there is no record of a divorce between the two, while Paddock divorced his wife 27 years ago.
Peggy Paddock, 63, lives in a two-story townhouse in Cerritos, about 30 mies south east of Los Angeles, where she stayed inside on Monday, too stunned to talk about the Vegas horror.
Outside her home, Los Angeles Sheriff’s Sgt. Cort Bishop told DailyMail.com that Peggy was married to Stephen for 6 years but divorced him 27 years ago.
’She is as shocked and surprised as everybody else by what happened in Vegas,’ said Sgt. Bishop.
He went on to say that Peggy has no children with her ex and ‘has had no contact with him for many years.’
Sgt. Bishop added that Peggy has been in a relationship with her current boyfriend for 20 years and that he did not know why she kept her ex-husband’s name after the divorce.
Paddock married Peggy after the collapse of his first marriage to Sharon Brunoehler, who he was married to in the 1970s and 80s while living in California.
Paddock used Danley’s ID when he checked himself into the hotel according to a source with knowledge of the investigation, despite the fact that she was not with him during his stay.
Police were also on the lookout for two motor vehicles in the wake of the attack which they have also since located.
Paddock and Danley live in a upscale community that includes an 18-hole golf course, indoor and outdoor swimming pools and a recreation center with gym.
Ex-wife: Paddock was married to Peggy (above) for six years before the two divorced 27 years ago
Residents must be over the age of 55 and no children are allowed to live in the development of over 1,000 homes.
In addition to his pricey Nevada property, Paddock was also the owner of two planes, and according to the FAA records was certified as a private pilot back in 2003.
His address on that 2003 certification is listed as Mesquite, Texas, where he lived for in a $200,000 home for 12 years from 1998 to 2010.
Records do not show him owning or living at any home however between 2010 and 2012, when he moved to Reno after two decades in Texas.
Police have not said at this time whether or not Paddock had ties to any domestic or foreign terror groups, but he is not believe to have any connections per multiple sources including his brother.
ISIS meanwhile claimed responsibility for the attack early Monday, saying the gunman was a recent convert to Islam.
That claims was quickly discredited by multiple officials, who stated that there is no evidence to support that allegation.
