Las Vegas Gunman Reportedly Shot at Aviation Fuel Tanks

It appears Stephen Paddock may have intended to inflict even more damage on concertgoers Sunday night in Las Vegas, with a source telling the Las Vegas Review-Journal that the 64-year-old had fired at two jet fuel tanks as well as the crowd of thousands.

Another source told the publication that Paddock’s bullets left two holes in one of two tanks, but did not cause an explosion or fire. The tanks are located about 1,100 feet from the concert site, as well as near multiple airplane hangars.

Paddock fired on the Route 91 Harvest Festival from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel across the street, killing over 50 people and injuring hundreds more. The 64-year-old broke two windows in his hotel room, one in view of the concert site and the other with a view of the fuel tanks, a source said.

Mike Boyd, a Colorado-based aviation consultant, noted that jet fuel is difficult to ignite.

“A machine gun is not going to blow up a tank of fuel,” Boyd said. “Jet fuel itself sitting there in a big wet pile is very hard to ignite. You have to be a very amateur terrorist to think anything like that.”

The sources added that the holes have since been repaired and FBI agents inspected the tanks and measured the line of fire.

“Airport fueling has not been compromised,” McCarran International Airport spokesman Chris Jones said Wednesday. “It’s functional.”

Photo Credit: Twitter / @cedricfaiche