The Las Vegas shooter would 'lie in bed just moaning and screaming,' girlfriend recalls


Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock would "lie in bed just moaning and screaming 'oh my God,'" his girlfriend, Marilou Danley, told investigators, who remain without a satisfying motive for the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history nearly a week after the attack. The former FBI officials who relayed Danley's account to NBC News added that while Danley described "mental health symptoms," authorities do not believe Paddock's health had reached such a state as to satisfyingly explain his horrific actions.
In addition to not understanding what drove Paddock to his attack — which was meticulously planned and perhaps involved scouting possible locations in other states — investigators are trying to learn what the gunman did in the hour between shooting a security guard outside his hotel room and being discovered dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound by a SWAT team. It was unclear how long Paddock had been dead in the room before he was found.
"I hope to hell they find, when they do the autopsy, that there's a tumor in his head, or something, because if they don't, we're all in trouble," said the shooter's brother, Eric Paddock. NBC News writes that authorities believe at the very least Paddock "may have been in physical or mental anguish."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.
-
Book reviews: 'America, América: A New History of the New World' and 'Sister, Sinner: The Miraculous Life and Mysterious Disappearance of Aimee Semple McPherson'
Feature A historian tells a new story of the Americas and the forgotten story of a pioneering preacher
-
Another messaging app used by the White House is in hot water
The Explainer TeleMessage was seen being used by former National Security Adviser Mike Waltz
-
AI hallucinations are getting worse
In the Spotlight And no one knows why it is happening
-
Suspect charged after 11 die in Vancouver car attack
Speed Read Kai-Ji Adam Lo drove an SUV into a crowd at the Lapu Lapu Day festival
-
Kenya arrests alleged ant smugglers
speed read Two young Belgians have been charged for attempting to smuggle ants out of the country to exotic pet buyers
-
Judge ends Eric Adams case, Trump leverage
Speed Read Federal corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams were dismissed, as requested by Trump's Justice Department
-
Texas arrests midwife on felony abortion charges
Speed Read Maria Margarita Rojas and an employee at one of her clinics are the first to be criminally charged under Texas' near-total abortion ban
-
South Carolina to execute prisoner by firing squad
speed read Death row inmate Brad Sigmon prefers the squad over the electric chair or lethal injection, his lawyer said
-
Mexico extradites 29 cartel figures amid US tariff threat
Speed Read The extradited suspects include Rafael Caro Quintero, long sought after killing a US narcotics agent
-
Leonard Peltier released from prison
Speed Read The Native American activist convicted of killing two FBI agents had his life sentence commuted by former President Joe Biden
-
Ex-Sen. Bob Menendez sentenced to 11 years
Speed Read The former New Jersey senator was convicted on federal bribery and corruption charges last year