Crime | Las Vegas gunman was germophobe, possibly bipolar

This October 2017 photo released by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Force Investigation Team Report shows the interior of Stephen Paddock’s 32nd floor room at the Mandalay Bay hotel

After three months of investigation, police have learned more about Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock: He was a high- stakes gambler on a losing streak, obsessed with cleanliness, possibly bipolar and was having difficulties with his live-in girlfriend.

The Las Vegas gunman meticulously planned the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history, killing 58 people and wounding more than 800 others with a barrage of bullets from the Mandalay Bay casino-hotel. He researched SWAT tactics, rented other hotel rooms overlooking outdoor concerts and investigated potential targets in at least four cities, authorities disclosed Friday.

Investigators found 23 rifles and a handgun in his hotel suite and more than a dozen of the rifles were fitted with “bump stock” devices that allowed rapid-fire shooting similar to fully automatic weapons. Dozens of guns were strewn around the room, some left inside a bassinet.

Paddock fired more than 1,100 bullets, mostly from two windows on the 32nd floor of the hotel, into a crowd of 22,000 people attending the Route 91 Harvest Festival music below. That includes about 200 shots fired through his hotel room door into a hallway where an unarmed hotel security guard was wounded in the leg and a maintenance engineer took cover.

But almost four months after Paddock meticulously carried out his killing spree investigators still have not answered the key question: Why did he do it?

Paddock, who killed himself before police reached him and did not leave a suicide note, told friends and relatives that he always felt ill, in pain and fatigued, authorities said.

The 64-year-old retired accountant and real estate investor had lost a “significant amount of wealth” since September 2015, which led to “bouts of depression,” the sheriff has said.

Paddock had become “distant” in the year before the shooting and their relationship was no longer intimate, his girlfriend said during an interview with investigators. She described him as germophobic and said he had strong reactions to smells.

His doctor thought he may have had bipolar disorder but told police that Paddock refused to discuss the possibility, the report said. The doctor offered him antidepressants, but Paddock accepted only a prescription for anxiety medication. He was fearful of medication and often refused to take it, the doctor told investigators. MDT/AP

Macau authorities to conduct armed robbery simulation

Macau authorities are planning to conduct a drill simulating a violent armed robbery at Galaxy Macau between 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. on Tuesday, January 23.

The drill will involve several government departments and be conducted in partnership with integrated resort owner Galaxy Entertainment Group.

Codenamed “Wolf Capture”, the simulation exercise is a response to last year’s Las Vegas killing spree, which left 58 dead and more than 800 injured.

Wolf Capture aims to test the capacity for cooperation between the police, various public entities and the integrated resort operator.

According to a police statement, it will involve a hostage scenario, simulated injuries and the “suspicion of explosives”, allowing authorities to assess the effectiveness of crisis response mechanisms.

While the simulation is being carried out, the section of Marginal Flor de Lótus Avenue between the left turn that gives access to the JW Marriott Hotel and the roundabout of the same hotel will be closed to traffic.

The main departments involved are the Unitary Police Services, the Judiciary Police, the Public Security Police Force, the Fire Services Bureau and the Gaming Inspection and Coordination Bureau.

According to the statement, police authorities are also counting on the participation of the Health Services and the Tourism Crisis Management Office.