Details continue to emerge about Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock, and TMZ is reporting that he booked two hotel rooms overlooking the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago this past August.
NBC also reported on the potential targets: “The gunman who massacred dozens in Las Vegas researched possible attack locations in Boston and Chicago, multiple senior law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation told NBC News.”
Paddock allegedly booked two rooms at the Blackstone Hotel, located across the street from Grant Park, where Lollapalooza took place. The first room was booked for Aug. 1, two days before the kickoff of the festival; the second was booked for Aug. 3. Both rooms had a checkout date of August 6, the last day of the festival. Additionally, Paddock reportedly specifically requested that the two rooms overlook Grant Park.
According to TMZ’s sources, Paddock never checked in.
More than 400,000 people attended Lollapalooza in Chicago – including Barack Obama’s oldest daughter, Malia. Malia infamously flailed and rolled around on the ground at the festival, seemingly possessed by the music.
The people who attended Lollapalooza this past summer should consider themselves lucky. Had Paddock showed up, it could have been another bloodbath.
If this is indeed the same Stephen Paddock who gunned down 59 people at the Route 91 Harvest festival in Las Vegas, it’s certainly an eerie coincidence. It’s highly unlikely that he could have known Malia would be present or that she was a specific target. Furthermore, this is the second festival Paddock is believed to have planned on targeting. A source told CBS that Paddock attempted to book rooms at the Ogden, a luxury condo high-rise, and another unidentified hotel that overlooked the Life is Beautiful festival in Las Vegas from Sept. 22-24.
It’s evident that Paddock just wanted access to any large gathering of people so that he could do the most harm possible. As for why, police are still searching for a motive.
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