Friend of Vegas Shooter Describes Him as Sweet, Twitter Immediately Sounds Off

A woman who describes herself as a close friend of Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock says he was a caring person who always tried to “make people happy,” she told Good Morning America Monday.

“He actually cared about everybody,” said Lisa Crawford, a friend and employee who managed an apartment Paddock owned from 2006 to 2012.

Crawford remembers Paddock as a funny man who was always giving and understanding of his tenants.

“He tried to make people happy; he tried to make people care and I don’t know what happened to him,” she added with eyes tearing up.

She said she spoke with her former employer a few weeks ago via email when he reached out to make sure she — a Dallas resident — was safe following Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

“I have read [the conversations] over and over and over again,” Crawford said. “I’ve even looked at some photos online of, I guess, him and his girlfriend; you know I was even trying to look into his eyes to see if I saw something that wasn’t normal, you know. No, I didn’t see anything.”

Though Crawford remembers Paddock as a generous, caring person, she wants “closure” for the victims of his deadly Oct. 1 attack on concertgoers in Las Vegas.

“I can’t believe that the person that I knew would even consider hurting somebody,” she said. “I want so bad to have answers for people. I want to solve this. I want us to do whatever I can to tell the authorities to look here, look there.”

The former property manager for Paddock said she feels “guilty” for having known Paddock, even prior to his act of domestic terror on attendees of the Route 91 Harvest Festival.

“I have cried for those people, so many times I almost feel like I’m out of tears sometimes,” she said. “It could have been my mom, my children.”

When Crawford’s depiction of a happy, loving man — a “goofball,” even — was aired on ABC, Twitter unleashed some stern thoughts on the gunman’s life and legacy.

Comparing then and now:

Some couldn’t take Crawford’s message seriously after knowing the destruction Paddock caused during the massacre of 58 people in Las Vegas on Oct. 1.

Theories of mental illness:

Others note that these “admirable” traits do not suggest that Paddock didn’t also have mental instability that led to his alleged detailed plan and actions overlooking the Route 91 Harvest Festival from the 32nd floor of Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. 

Multiple users also compared Crawford’s account of Paddock to those positive perceptions of criminals like Ted Bundy, Charles Manson, Jeffery Dahmer and John Wayne Gacy.

Others theorize that Paddock’s prescription of anti-anxiety medication may be a factor in his potentially altered mental stability. He was allegedly prescribed the drug in mid-June.

Shifting from Paddock to victims:

Commenters also focused their attention away from Paddock and toward the hundreds of victims of the mass shooting, which is now considered the deadliest in modern U.S. history.

As the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the FBI work to piece together an accurate timeline, details and motive leading Paddock to carry out this mass shooting, four officers who first arrived at the gunman’s hotel room speak out to 60 Minutes about their chilling experience.

LVMPD sheriff Joe Lombardo also gave updated information about authorities’ progress during the program Sunday night. Recap the special episode here.