Eric Paddock, Brother Of Las Vegas Shooter, Speaks Out In Exclusive Interview, Says Stephen Was ‘Just A Guy’
Eric Paddock, the brother of the now-infamous Las Vegas shooter, Stephen Paddock, spoke out in an exclusive interview on Monday with the Daily Mail. During the interview from his home in Orlando, Florida, Eric Paddock said that his brother, Stephen, was “just a guy.” Eric went on to say that he and Stephen lived miles apart on different coasts and that his entire family is “dumbfounded” that Stephen could “do something like this.”
Hours after Stephen Paddock, 64, opened fire on a crowded country music concert in Las Vegas, his brother, Eric Paddock, said that “there was no indication” that Stephen could kill at least 50 people while injuring hundreds more at the crowded 4th annual Route 91 Harvest Festival on Sunday night. Eric Paddock told the Daily Mail that his family had “no idea” what would make Stephen shoot, adding that something must have happened to “make him shoot.”
According to the Telegraph, no known motive has been “put forward” as to why Stephen Paddock would snap and open fire on concert-goers, with what recordings suggest was an automatic weapon, from his 32nd-floor hotel room across from the three-day country music festival. Stephen’s brother, Eric Paddock, also has no idea of a possible motive, saying that Stephen was “just a guy” with “no political or religious affiliation.” Eric also noted that his 90-year-old mother is in shock and “struggling to cope with the news.”
“He’s just a guy who lived in Mesquite who liked burritos,” is how Eric Paddock described his brother, Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock pic.twitter.com/q3MUgIa2Ws
— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 2, 2017
Eric and Stephen Paddock’s mother reportedly lives down the street from Eric in Orlando, Florida, and Eric told the Daily Mail that he hopes “everyone doesn’t attack us.” According to Eric Paddock, he didn’t have a close relationship with Stephen, but they did “talk occasionally.” Eric Paddock also believes that Stephen’s Asian companion, Marilou Danley, 62, had “nothing to do with this, at least from my perspective.”
The Orlando Sentinel published more of Eric Paddock’s interview, in which Eric states that Stephen Paddock never owned an automatic weapon but “had some guns.” Eric went on to say that Stephen “was never violent” and had “never even drawn” a gun before. Eric reportedly helped Stephen move to Las Vegas, Nevada, from Viera, Florida, in 2015, and former Florida neighbors of Stephen Paddock said he was “friendly all the time.”
Eric Paddock reportedly last spoke with Stephen after hurricane Irma hit Florida last month and maintains his position that “something happened” to make Stephen snap.
“We have absolutely no idea whatsoever. I can’t imagine. When you guys find out why this happened, let us know. I have no idea whatsoever.”
Update: Las Vegas shooting leaves at least 58 dead & 515 injured in largest mass shooting in U.S. history https://t.co/BvVjnxTmvt pic.twitter.com/uUC29NxUfc
— billboard (@billboard) October 2, 2017
Comments on Eric Paddock’s interview suggest that Stephen Paddock “didn’t just snap,” adding that the now-deceased Nevada native, who was a retiree and a grandfather, according to the Telegraph, took the time to gather up his guns and rent a Mandalay Bay hotel room overlooking the music festival grounds. Other comments say that Stephen Paddock specifically targeted this music festival and planned “how to kill the most people in one go.” Arguments say that Stephen didn’t just snap and that his attack on the Route 91 Harvest Festival was “premeditated.”
Heavy noted that Eric Paddock and the rest of Stephen Paddock’s family offered condolences to “the victims and all their families.”
[Featured Image by Ronda Churchill/AP Images]
