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Las Vegas sheriff says motive still unknown for mass shooting at music festival in 2017

Posted at 9:56 AM, Aug 03, 2018
and last updated 2018-08-03 12:59:10-04

LAS VEGAS — Sheriff Joe Lombardo said during a press conference on Friday morning that it is still unknown why Stephen Paddock opened fire on concert-goers on the night of Oct. 1, 2017.

58 people died and hundreds of people were injured during the worst mass shooting in modern history during a country music festival in Las Vegas. 

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FINAL REPORT

Lombardo stressed during the press conference that the focus of the final report is the criminal investigation and the report does not focus on the actions or lack of action of any individuals that night.

Lombardo also said that Paddock was an "unremarkable man" and that there were no warning signs according to Paddock's family and doctor. The sheriff also told the press that Paddock lost a lot of money in the past year and that could have been part of the motive for what he did. 

The sheriff also admitted that although the shooting did not meet the federal definition of terrorism, he personally considers it an act of terrorism. 

Lombardo also said that there is no evidence of other gunmen and they do not expect to arrest anyone else.

In addition, the sheriff admitted that the missing hard drive has not been located and that it was common practice for Paddock to remove and hide hard drives.

When asked if something like this could happen again, the sheriff admitted that it could. He also talked about what they have done since the mass shooting to prevent such an event. The sheriff stressed that Las Vegas is a "safe" community.

Other things discussed in the press conference included the communication system. Sheriff Lombardo described the system as "sound and robust" despite criticism from some. 

The final report will be released this morning. The report will contain a final timeline of events, interviews with key personnel and more. 

More video and related documents are expected to be released over the next 3 weeks.