Investigators are still trying to piece together the actions of domestic terrorist Stephen Paddock ahead of the deadly Route 91 Harvest Festival shooting that killed 58 and injured more than 500 others.
Police officials thought that Paddock’s computer could hold the key to what he was privately planning ahead of the attack, especially since his loved ones reportedly knew nothing of his plans. The hard drive of his computer was missing, so investigators have had a harder time tracing his electronic movements.
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However, investigators have found a key clue through his Internet search history.
An unnamed law-enforcement official told the Wall Street Journal that Paddock had looked up “techniques used by local police for breaching rooms in standoff situations.”
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This SWAT tactic research were presumably used by Paddock to prepare for confronting police. When police began to near his hotel room at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, he killed himself.
Some have believed that Paddock may have originally planned to attempt an escape, and this search history feeds into that theory.
Paddock’s motive for the attack is still not clear at this time.
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