Stephen Paddock – named by police as the gunman who opened fire on a Las Vegas outdoor music concert from a 32nd-floor hotel room – had no criminal record and no history of mental illness. Details about Paddock’s life and livelihood are sparse. Paddock and his three brothers were raised by their mother, who told the children that their father had died when in fact he was in prison. Stephen Paddock’s father, Benjamin Hoskins Paddock, was sentenced in 1961 to 20 years for a string of bank robberies. He escaped from La Tuna federal prison, Texas, in 1968 and lived in hiding until 1978. A “Wanted” poster for the elder Paddock warned that he was “diagnosed as psychopathic,” “reportedly has suicidal
tendencies” and “should be considered armed and very dangerous.”
Sheriff: Las Vegas shooter had lost money, been depressed
