Stephen Paddox: The Deadliest Mass Shootings In American History

A gunman fired into a crowd of people at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival on Sunday, October 1st, 2017 on the Las Vegas strip, killing 58 people and injuring more than 500 people. The Las Vegas shooting, one of the deadliest mass shootings in American history could possibly be an act of terrorism.

The shooter, Stephen Paddox was 64 years old, twice divorced with no kids. He was a retired accountant who lived in Mesquite, Nevada with his girlfriend, 62-year-old Marilou Danley. Paddox graduated from California State, Northridge in 1977 with a degree in business administration. According to his brother, Eric Paddox, he was a successful real estate investor and showed no signs of violence. On September 28th, 2017 Paddox rents a high-rise room on the 32nd floor at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino not far from the Las Vegas strip where the country concert was being held. Over the course of about 1 year he purchased 33 firearms. He also bought 1,000 rounds of tracers ammunition a month before. He sets up 23 weapons throughout his hotel room as well as cameras. Around 10:08pm Paddox opened fire on the 22,000 concertgoers for at least 9-11 minutes.

As Paddox lashes out on the crowd of people at the festival they began to run and take cover.

This led to 58 deaths and nearly 500 injured. Once law enforcement officials figured out where the shots were coming from they immediately took action into finding exactly where and who was behind this terrible act. When the police and swat team got there, they found a security guard injured and Paddox dead in his hotel room from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Law enforcement officials stated that investigators believe that the note found on the nightstand in Paddox room contained numbers to help calculate more precise shots. Investigators are still working to determine why Paddox committed this

crime.
Researching this story brings me to believe that Stephen Paddox mass shooting was an act of terrorism. If anyone in this country threatens to kill someone just out of anger in the heat of the moment will be arrested and charged with terroristic threat. Paddox opened fire on 22,000 people at a country music festival killing 58 people and injuring over 500 and officials say it wasn’t an act of terrorism. That’s exactly what it was in my opinion, an act of terrorism. Terrorism actual or threatened use of violence, directed by groups or individuals against noncombatants, to achieve political ends through intimidation. “Terrorism.” Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, 2016, p. 1p. 1. EBSCOhost, proxygsudekt.galileo.usg.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspz?direct=true&db=funk&AN=TE034000&site=eds-live&scope=site. It arouses considerable emotions that are associated with public reactions to attacks and events. Emotions like hatred, humiliation, fear, jealousy and anger.
It’s unfortunate when you think that you’re waking up to a beautiful day that’s planned around a certain event and you get there not knowing that moment will be your last moment on earth. Innocent people lives were taken away by Stephen Paddox. People lost wives, mothers, husbands, sisters, aunts, brothers, dads, uncles, grandmothers, grandfathers, and friends. Unfortunately, our community’s lost officers, teachers, doctors, military veterans, and so many more. Families traveled to place crosses and flowers for the lives lost in Las Vegas. Many organizations, celebrities, and companies have donated money to the families that were involved, even blood donations. May all the lives lost rest in peace.