Oct. 6 (UPI) — Las Vegas police said they have found the vehicle owned by shooter Stephen Paddock, and an explosive compound inside the car.
The SUV was found while police executed a search warrant at Paddock’s home in Reno, a police statement said late Thursday.
Authorities asked for help finding the vehicle soon after Paddock began his assault from a 32nd floor window at the Mandalay Bay Resort and casino on the Las Vegas Strip Sunday night. His ten-minute shooting rampage on a country music festival killed 58 people and injured more than 500.
An explosive compound, tannerite, was found during the search. The same compound was previously found in a car Paddock parked at the Mandalay Bay and in another of his homes, in Mesquite, Nev.
Police are still attempting to find a motive for the shootings.
“Usually there’s a telltale sign associated with these types of actions — reclusive, a plethora of things associated with this mindset — and we have not found that yet,” Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said.
A candlelight vigil in Las Vegas’ Police Memorial Park attracted thousands of people on Thursday evening. It honored Charleston Hatfield, 34, a Las Vegas police officer who was shot to death during the assault.
Authorities have not disclosed why Paddock may have possessed the explosive material, since no bomb was used in the attack. They said they also found ammonium nitrate, another ingredient that can be used to make explosives, in his vehicle in Las Vegas.
Fallout from the shooting dominated a security meeting of Las Vegas law enforcement and security personnel on Thursday. The open design of the city’s main casino area has long been regarded by security experts as a potential target, the Nevada Independent reported. Immediately after the shooting, several casinos began scanning guests and checking luggage more closely.
The attack, the deadliest in U.S. history, is regarded as an anomaly by some law enforcement officials, unlike most mass shooting incidents — which experts say are typically confined to a closed space.
