US

Was Stephen Paddock Planning An Attack On LA?

Social media/Handout via REUTERS

Daily Caller News Foundation logo
Anders Hagstrom Justice Reporter
Font Size:

Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock may have been planning an attack at a beach in Los Angeles, according to a newly-released report on his internet and phone usage.

Police searched through the internet history of an HP laptop found in Paddock’s suite at the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas and found a Google search for “how crowded does Santa Monica Beach get,” according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. Paddock killed 58 people and wounded more than 700 others attending a Las Vegas music festival when he opened fire from his hotel room in October, raining down fire for 10 minutes.

Paddock made the search in May 2017, four months before his attack. It was found alongside searches for “open air concert venues,” “biggest open air concert venues in USA,” and “summer concerts 2017.”

Internet history showed his searches became more focused on Las Vegas as he decided on a plan of attack, according to a full police report on the shooting released Friday. He searched “do police use explosives” on Sept. 15 2017, as well as “SWAT Las Vegas.”

The report contains an in-depth summary of Paddock’s life as well as the events of the shooting. Paddock’s physician described him as “‘odd” in behavior with “little emotion” shown, according to the report.

“He believed Paddock may have had bipolar disorder however, Paddock did not want to discuss that topic further with him,” the report says. “Paddock also refused anti-depressant medication but accepted prescriptions for anxiety. He noted Paddock seemed fearful of medications, often refusing to take them. He did not believe Paddock was abusing any medications.”

Police found four laptops and three cellphones and followed nearly 2,000 digital leads, including 21,560 hours of video and 251,099 images. The laptops were handed over to the FBI for investigation and the agency found Paddock’s apparent internet history.

Investigators also found references to the “Life is Beautiful” music festival that took place in Las Vegas in late September, just before Paddock’s shooting. Searches included “life is beautiful expected attendance,” “life is beautiful single day tickets,” and “life is beautiful Vegas lineup.”

Follow Anders on Twitter

Send Tips: anders@dailycallernewsfoundation.org

Freedom of Speech Isn’t Free
The Daily Caller News Foundation is working hard to balance out the biased American media. For as little as $3, you can help us. Make a one-time donation to support the quality, independent journalism of TheDCNF. We’re not dependent on commercial or political support and we do not accept any government funding.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

PREMIUM ARTICLE: Subscribe To Keep Reading

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign Up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
BENEFITS READERS PASS PATRIOTS FOUNDERS
Daily and Breaking Newsletters
Daily Caller Shows
Ad Free Experience
Exclusive Articles
Custom Newsletters
Editor Daily Rundown
Behind The Scenes Coverage
Award Winning Documentaries
Patriot War Room
Patriot Live Chat
Exclusive Events
Gold Membership Card
Tucker Mug

What does Founders Club include?

Tucker Mug and Membership Card
Founders

Readers,

Instead of sucking up to the political and corporate powers that dominate America, The Daily Caller is fighting for you — our readers. We humbly ask you to consider joining us in this fight.

Now that millions of readers are rejecting the increasingly biased and even corrupt corporate media and joining us daily, there are powerful forces lined up to stop us: the old guard of the news media hopes to marginalize us; the big corporate ad agencies want to deprive us of revenue and put us out of business; senators threaten to have our reporters arrested for asking simple questions; the big tech platforms want to limit our ability to communicate with you; and the political party establishments feel threatened by our independence.

We don't complain -- we can't stand complainers -- but we do call it how we see it. We have a fight on our hands, and it's intense. We need your help to smash through the big tech, big media and big government blockade.

We're the insurgent outsiders for a reason: our deep-dive investigations hold the powerful to account. Our original videos undermine their narratives on a daily basis. Even our insistence on having fun infuriates them -- because we won’t bend the knee to political correctness.

One reason we stand apart is because we are not afraid to say we love America. We love her with every fiber of our being, and we think she's worth saving from today’s craziness.

Help us save her.

A second reason we stand out is the sheer number of honest responsible reporters we have helped train. We have trained so many solid reporters that they now hold prominent positions at publications across the political spectrum. Hear a rare reasonable voice at a place like CNN? There’s a good chance they were trained at Daily Caller. Same goes for the numerous Daily Caller alumni dominating the news coverage at outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, Daily Wire and many others.

Simply put, America needs solid reporters fighting to tell the truth or we will never have honest elections or a fair system. We are working tirelessly to make that happen and we are making a difference.

Since 2010, The Daily Caller has grown immensely. We're in the halls of Congress. We're in the Oval Office. And we're in up to 20 million homes every single month. That's 20 million Americans like you who are impossible to ignore.

We can overcome the forces lined up against all of us. This is an important mission but we can’t do it unless you — the everyday Americans forgotten by the establishment — have our back.

Please consider becoming a Daily Caller Patriot today, and help us keep doing work that holds politicians, corporations and other leaders accountable. Help us thumb our noses at political correctness. Help us train a new generation of news reporters who will actually tell the truth. And help us remind Americans everywhere that there are millions of us who remain clear-eyed about our country's greatness.

In return for membership, Daily Caller Patriots will be able to read The Daily Caller without any of the ads that we have long used to support our mission. We know the ads drive you crazy. They drive us crazy too. But we need revenue to keep the fight going. If you join us, we will cut out the ads for you and put every Lincoln-headed cent we earn into amplifying our voice, training even more solid reporters, and giving you the ad-free experience and lightning fast website you deserve.

Patriots will also be eligible for Patriots Only content, newsletters, chats and live events with our reporters and editors. It's simple: welcome us into your lives, and we'll welcome you into ours.

We can save America together.

Become a Daily Caller Patriot today.

Signature

Neil Patel