Gunshots, screams and people scrambling to their feet in a panic describes what would soon be known as the worst mass shooting in U.S. history. In the Las Vegas shooting which started on an initially festive night on October 1, 2017, 22,000 people were enjoying the Route 91 Harvest festival, a country music concert. Then, promptly at 10:05 p.m., without any prior warning, gunshots suddenly rained down on unsuspecting concertgoers.
Stephen Paddock has been identified as the perpetrator of the deadly shooting. It has been confirmed by the police and CNN that Paddock was a 64 year old retired accountant and real estate investor. His family and friends identified him as a gambler. Unusually enough, Paddock did not have any existing crime records that could have warned the police. The only known connection that he may have had with criminal acts was his father, a convicted bank robber. However, the influence this could have had on him is unconfirmed. Such circumstances have led many to question why this happened.
An expert told People Magazine that he thinks he knows the answer. Criminal profiler, John Kelly, expresses his thoughts he believes Paddock was a killer from the start. Based on his research, Paddock was abused as a child. As an adult, he tried to get rid of his stress by gambling and using Valium, a drug with powerful side effects that include agitation and hallucinations. This may have been a crucial factor in committing the shooting.
Police have confirmed at least twenty-three guns were found inside the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino suite from which Paddock perpetrated the shooting. Police believe that all the guns he owned, including additional ones in his house, were legally purchased. The ten suitcases he used to carry the guns and cameras, thought to have been used to let Paddock know if anyone was coming, were considerable evidence of the apparent massacre.
In brief ten minutes, Paddock killed fifty-eight people and wounded 527 others. By the time police and SWAT teams broke into his suite, he was already dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the head.
Since the shooting, six out of ten Americans support stronger gun laws. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy and House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi are planning to introduce a new background check bill to make sure that only responsible individuals can buy a gun. Others are in favor of less gun control because they want the ability to protect themselves. By owning a gun, they argue that they will be able to fight back against shooters.
Although the physical scars inflicted on people are grave, the mental trauma runs even deeper than flesh wounds. The loved ones of 22,000 people attending the concert were negatively impacted by the events. Relatives and friends are speaking out about those who were killed in the attack. Chris Muniz is mourning his wife, Lisa Romero-Muniz.“Her smile is what I’ll miss most. There just wasn’t a bad bone in her body. She’d give you her last dime.”
The wife of victim James Melton remembers, “He grabbed me and started running when I felt him get shot in the back. I want everyone to know what a kind-hearted, loving man he was, but at this point, I can barely breathe.” These are just two victims out of so many more, every one of them loved and appreciated by all those around them.