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WORST MASS SHOOTING IN U.S. HISTORY

Who was Stephen Paddock, how old was the Las Vegas shooter, how many guns did he own and why did he carry out the shooting?

Stephen Paddock has been named as the shooter responsible for the mass killing in Las Vegas

STEPHEN Craig Paddock was the gunman responsible for the deadliest mass shooting in American history after he opened fire on a music festival in Las Vegas in October 2017.

He killed 59 people and injured  more than 515 when he used a vast arsenal to rain bullets down on revellers from a hotel suite in the Mandalay Bay Hotel.

 Stephen Paddock was named as the shooter responsible for the mass killing in Las Vegas
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 Stephen Paddock was named as the shooter responsible for the mass killing in Las VegasCredit: Twitter

Who was Stephen Paddock?

Stephen Paddock was identified by police as the gunman who killed 59 people at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas.

The 64-year-old, of Mesquite, Nevada, fired at festival-goers from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort Casino.

Paddock was a retired accountant and didn't have a criminal record. He liked to fly small aircraft and also had a hunting licence.

His brother revealed he was also a multi-millionaire property developer.

But while the shooter himself had no criminal background, the same reportedly cannot be said for all his family.

Paddock’s father was Benjamin Hoskins Paddock, a serial bank robber.

He killed himself as armed police closed in and stormed the hotel room from which he committed the deadliest shooting in modern US history.

 People ran to the nearby airport for cover, with other hotels in lockdown
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People ran to the nearby airport for cover, with other hotels in lockdown

Was he linked to any militant or extremist groups?

Las Vegas Sheriff  Joseph Lombardo confirmed the Nevada native was a "lone wolf" who they believe acted alone.

He said that they [the police department] had no idea about his potential motives.

He continued saying that he, or the attack, was not believed to be connected to any extremist or militant groups.

Isis claimed in a statement published by their official Amaq propaganda agency Paddock had converted to Islam.

 Paddock is pictured as a young man in his high school yearbook
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Paddock is pictured as a young man in his high school yearbookCredit: Coleman-Rayner 2017

Was Stephen Paddock a millionaire?

Cops announced the mass-murderer made several large gambling transactions, according to .

It is not clear if the transactions were losses or wins, but officials are quoted as saying they stretched into the tens of thousands.

It emerged he had wired £75,000 to the Philippines, girlfriend Marilou Danley’s home country, the week before his spree.

FBI investigators looked at Paddock's finances in a bid to establish a motive for the massacre.

Relatives of the former accountant said he was worth at least $2million (£1.5million) and obsessively gambled tens of thousands of dollars.

His brother Eric said he recently received a text saying Paddock had won $40,000 (£30,000).

 Paddock, right, pictured with his brother Eric, left, in 2002
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Paddock, right, pictured with his brother Eric, left, in 2002Credit: @WESH

What did his brother Eric Paddock say?

The FBI spoke to Paddock's brother Eric at his home in Florida. He has since given a few interviews with US media.

“He was my brother and it’s like an asteroid fell out of the sky,” Paddock told CNN.

The last he had heard from Paddock previously was when he called to check on their mother in the wake of Hurricane Irma.

“He’s not an avid gun guy at all. The fact that he had those kind of weapons is just – where the hell did he get automatic weapons?

"He has no military background or anything like that. He’s just a guy who lived in a house in Mesquite, drove down and gambled in Las Vegas. He did stuff. Ate burritos.”

 Paddock's body is visible on the floor of the hotel room
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Paddock's body is visible on the floor of the hotel room

How many guns did Stephen Paddock have?

Paddock smuggled a cache of 23 weapons into the hotel, including AK-47s.

His massive arsenal was believed to include an AR-15, four DDM4 rifles, three FN-15 rifles and Sig Sauer rifles.

One long gun appeared to have been modified with a “bump stock” that would render it fully automatic and have allowed Paddock to un­leash hundreds of rounds a minute.

The weapon also had a holographic sight and an over-sized magazine, letting the the shooter fire in longer bursts than usual before having to reload.

The mass murderer, 64, is understood to have smashed the window of his hotel room with a hammer, giving himself a deadly sniper position.

Paddock used tripods to steady his weapons so he could unleash a hail of bullets onto the Route 91 music festival, killing 59 and wounding more than 500 others.

 Paddock smuggled a cache of 23 weapons into the Mandalay Bay hotel
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Paddock smuggled a cache of 23 weapons into the Mandalay Bay hotel

What happened in Las Vegas?

Hundreds of people were forced to dive for cover after gunfire erupted during a set at the open-air Route 91 Harvest Festival.

59 people died and more than 515 were injured as the gunman sprayed bullets into the crowds from a hotel balcony.

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The Las Vegas strip was put on lockdown as cops raced to the scene.

The shooting took place at around 10.30pm (5:30am GMT) on October 1, 2017.

All flights in and out of Las Vegas were cancelled following the horror shooting.

Travellers were left in limbo as services into McCarran Airport were either cancelled or diverted to other airports in the US and Canada.

 Scenes of chaos have unfolded in Las Vegas
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Scenes of chaos have unfolded in Las VegasCredit: Getty Images - Getty

What is the Route 91 Harvest music festival?

The country music festival featured a number of acts over the three-day event with 40,000 fans attending.

These included Jason Aldean, Eric Church and Sam Hunt.

Jason Aldean was performing when the shots rang out.

Other acts performing at the festival included Lauren Alaina, Big & Rich, Lee Brice, Kane Brown, Brothers Osborne, Josh Abbott Band, Maren Morris and Brett Young.

New bodycam video shows moment cops stormed Las Vegas gunman​ Stephen Paddock​’s hotel room and found his body on the floor surrounded by guns
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