Boston Police Department Issues Statement on Risks After Vegas Shooting

On Sunday night, 64-year-old Stephen Paddock killed 58 people and injured hundreds more after firing on the Route 91 Harvest country music festival in Las Vegas. According to authorities, the festival wasn’t the first one he considered targeting.

ABC News reports that Paddock booked hotel rooms in Chicago in early August during the weekend of the Lollapalooza music festival, although he reportedly didn’t use the bookings. One of the hotels was across from Grant Park, where the festival took place.

Authorities also said that Paddock tried to rent a room at the El Cortez Hotel and Casino and did rent a room at the Ogden hotel in Las Vegas during the weekend of the Life Is Beautiful music festival in late September.

Investigators believe Paddock may also have scouted sites in Boston.

In a statement, the Boston PD said that “there is currently no known threat” to the Boston area and that the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is the lead investigative agency into the attack.

“We are aware of the media reports referencing a Boston connection to the Las Vegas mass shooting incident that occurred on Sunday, October 1, 2017,” the statement read. “The Boston Regional Intelligence Center is in contact with our local and federal law enforcement partners here and in Las Vegas and continues to monitor the situation. There is currently no known threat to the Metro Boston Homeland Security Region related to this incident.”

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