FBI releases report on Las Vegas shooting but finds no clear motive behind the attack

(Image credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

published 29 January 2019

After a 16-month investigation, the FBI says it did not find a clear motive behind the Las Vegas shooting that left 58 people dead and hundreds others injured in 2017.

The bureau released its report Tuesday and said that its investigation into Stephen Paddock's attack did not find a "single or clear motivating factor," The Associated Press reports. While the shooter wanted to inflict "the maximum amount of damage," the FBI said he was not "directed, inspired, nor enabled by ideologically-motivated persons or groups."

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Because Paddock didn't leave a manifesto or a suicide note, the agent in charge of the investigation told AP that he "didn't want people to know" more about what motivated him and that this report "comes as close to understanding the why as we're ever going to get." This, the report says, is consistent with the shooter's character. "Throughout his life, Paddock went to great lengths to keep his thoughts private, and that extended to his final thinking about this mass murder," the report says. Read more at The Associated Press.

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Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.

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