'I Couldn't Be More Dumbfounded': Las Vegas Suspect's Brother Expresses Shock, Disbelief Over Massacre
ORLANDO, Fla. (CBSNewYork) - The brother of the suspect in the worst mass shooting in the history of the United States says he is "completely dumbfounded" by the attack.
Police said Stephen Paddock, 64, opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas at a concert below, killing more than 50 and sending more than 400 to the hospital. He killed himself as police responded, authorities said.
His brother Eric Paddock, who lives in Florida, expressed total shock.
"He has no police record. He doesn't even have parking tickets probably," Eric Paddock said. "This is like you called me up and said 'Your next door neighbor did this.' And I'd go 'Wow, my next door neighbor did that. All I've ever seen him do is mow his yard.' The fact that my brother did this is... there's no... there's nothing. There's absolutely no... We don't understand."
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"There's not even anything I can say. How do you... I mean my brother did this. This is like he shot us. I mean, if he'd've killed my kids, I couldn't be more dumbfounded."
Asked about recent communication with his brother, Eric Paddock said they were in touch after the Hurricane Irma hit Florida and there was nothing to indicate any troubling behavior.
"I mean, there's nothing. I can show you the text. He said 'How's mom? Did you get power?' I mean, I hope someone finds out, figures out, because we'd like to know."
"I live here, he lives in Mesquite... We're not that close. We talk on the phone occasionally. He calls my mom and talks to her. There's no there there," Paddock said.
Paddock said he wasn't aware of his brother having any mental health issues, and also did not know that he had guns.
"No. Not an avid gun guy at all. The fact that he had those kind of weapons is just... where the hell did he get automatic weapons? He has no military background or anything like that," said Paddock. "He's a guy who lived in a house in Mesquite and drove down and gambled in Las Vegas. He did stuff. Eat burritos. I mean... ."
Paddock said he wasn't sure of his brother's marital status with Marylou Danley.
"She's a nice lady. I've met her three or four times. She's got a Facebook page. She sends cookies to my mom," Paddock said.
"We're shocked, horrified, completely dumbfounded," he added.
