Remembering the 58 Las Vegas victims

The news reports gave the impression that he had gambled away all his money. It turns out he wasn't a pauper, after all.

Las Vegas gunman died without a will. Who gets his $5 million estate?

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/...45m/ar-BBF7SV0

Hundreds of Las Vegas shooting victims file lawsuits accusing MGM and Mandalay Bay of missing 'red flags'

http://www.businessinsider.com/mgm-a...ooting-2017-11

I think the big hotels will have to start checking the luggage of every guest before they go to their room. That may sound like a police state to some people but it's better than having more shootings.

The death toll could have been much higher than 58. This is scary:

Sheriff: Las Vegas gunman fired more than 1,100 rounds

http://www.abcnews.go.com/us/wiresto...ounds-51349609

The "broken background check system" may finally be fixed so people who should not be allowed to buy guns will not be able to buy guns. This is a small step toward reducing the growing number of murders and massacres in the US.

As deaths mount, Attorney General Jeff Sessions orders review of federal gun database

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/as-...D=ansmsnnews11

We all know the Republicans are NRA puppets and will do nothing to reduce gun violence, no matter how bad it gets.

After mass shootings, retired military commanders urge Congress to address 'gun violence crisis'

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/aft...D=ansmsnnews11

What did I just say? Republicans are NRA puppets and will do nothing to reduce gun violence, no matter how bad it gets. Well, the Republicans have now ensured that gun violence and mass shootings will continue:

House passes 'unthinkable' NRA-backed bill lifting local gun restrictions

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2...n-restrictions

It's a start.

Columbia, South Carolina becomes first US city to ban gun bump stocks

http://www.voanews.com/a/south-carol...s/4171254.html

It took the coroner 83 days to officially determine what the rest of us knew the day after the massacre:

Victims of Las Vegas massacre all died of gunshot wounds: coroner

http://www.yahoo.com/news/victims-la...193548696.html

Snipers, spotters, 300 National Guardsmen, 1500 police officers, air patrols, 800 concrete bollards to prevent cars from being driven into crowds -- these may make Las Vegas revelers feel safer but I can't help thinking that none of these things would have prevented the October 1 massacre.

Las Vegas adding snipers, extra security for New Year's Eve

http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/28/us/las...nts/index.html

Here is disturbing news from the Las Vegas Review-Journal. How could so many hotel workers remain completely unaware of the gunman's plans? Did no one notice his assault rifles? Was no one the least bit suspicious?

Mandalay Bay staff interacted with Las Vegas shooter more than 10 times in days before October 1 massacre

https://www.reviewjournal.com/crime/...-before-oct-1/

Apparently somebody knew something. Stay tuned.

Indictment in Las Vegas mass shooting possible, police say
Los Angeles Times, Jan 16 2017 12:00 PM

Attorneys for the Las Vegas police said in district court Tuesday that there still could be criminal charges filed in relation to the mass shooting at a concert on the Las Vegas Strip that left 58 dead. The revelation came as Nick Crosby, a lawyer representing the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, argued to keep search warrants, affidavits and findings sealed as charges were being investigated. Stephen Paddock was the lone gunman in the October 1 massacre. Crosby said that because the investigation was ongoing, he couldn’t reveal who those charges might be aimed at or what they might entail but the charges could emerge within the next 60 days. Paddock’s girlfriend, Marilou Danley, has not been charged in the assault but has been called a "person of interest" by authorities. She was out of the country when the massacre occurred.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-...116-story.html

Have a handkerchief handy.

Eric Church, Maren Morris, Brothers Osborne, who performed at Las Vegas festival where a gunman opened fire, will collaborate on a tribute at this year's Grammy awards to honor the victims

http://www.msn.com/en-us/music/Gramm...D=ansmsnnews11

It is scary to see the planning that Paddock made for the massacre. It is scarier still to realize that nobody had any knowledge or suspicion of what he was planning.

Las Vegas shooter researched La Jolla, Santa Monica, San Diego before mass shooting
Los Angeles Times, Jan 20 2018 07:35 AM

On May 18, about four months before the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history unfolded on the Las Vegas Strip, gunman Stephen Paddock was thinking about San Diego. On an HP laptop seized from one of his Mandalay Bay hotel rooms after the massacre, authorities found a web search from that Thursday in May for "La Jolla Beach," as well as evidence that he had visited sandiego.org, the region’s tourism website. The findings were released by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department on Friday as part of an exhaustive report on the shooting.

From his perch on the 32nd floor of the hotel, Paddock, a professional gambler, sprayed gunfire for more than 10 minutes down on concertgoers attending the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival on October 1. Fifty-eight people were killed and more than 700 injured. The search through Paddock’s computers reveals queries into several areas around the country, although it is not clear whether he was considering those places as potential targets.

On the same day as the San Diego searches, he searched Google Maps for locales in Southern California, including hotels in Santa Monica and a Venice Beach gastropub, and places in Boston, including Fenway Park and Boston University Questrom School of Business. He also made queries for "open air concert venues," "biggest open air concert venues in USA" and "summer concerts 2017." The search history grows more focused on Las Vegas in September as Paddock finalized his plans, the report shows.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/l...120-story.html

Why would any private citizen need armor-piercing bullets? Why would any ammunition dealer need to make armor-piercing bullets?

Man who sold Las Vegas gunman ammunition charged with making armor-piercing bullets
Los Angeles Times, Feb 2 2018 4"45 PM

A man who sold ammunition to Stephen Paddock, the gunman who carried out the massacre in Las Vegas, has been charged with manufacturing armor-piercing bullets, according to court documents. Charges filed against Douglas Haig in federal court Friday included conspiracy and manufacturing armor-piercing ammunition — some of the rounds were found inside the hotel room where Paddock staged his attack and had Haig's fingerprints on them. The documents show Haig does not have a license to manufacture armor-piercing bullets. He appeared in court Friday afternoon and was released on bond, with a preliminary hearing set for February 15 in Phoenix. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-...202-story.html

No matter how many massacres take place -- Columbine, Aurora, Roseburg, Charleston, Fort Hood, Isla Vista, Orlando, San Bernardino, Newtown, Las Vegas -- Congress does absolutely nothing to curb gun violence. Republicans do the bidding of the NRA, which opposes any and all gun-control proposals. In November, the Democratic-controlled legislature in Massachusetts banned bump stocks. Those are attachments that turn a semiautomatic firearm into a fully automatic one. The Las Vegas shooter used bump stocks. New Jersey and the city of Denver banned bump stocks in January. Several other states are considering bans. Massachusetts Representative David Linsky said, "This is battlefield weaponry that has no place in society at all. These devices are killing machines." Cities and states are now doing what the Republican-led Congress will not.

After Las Vegas massacre, Congress has failed to act on bump stocks -- but states and cities are taking the lead

http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-...212-story.html

Unfortunately, no amount of money will ever compensate for all the lives lost.

$275,000 going to family of each person slain in Las Vegas shooting
The Associated Press, Mar 2 2018 9:20 PM

A $31.5 million victims' fund that started as a GoFundMe effort announced plans Friday to pay $275,000 to the families of each of the 58 people killed in the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history. The Las Vegas Victims Fund said the maximum $275,000 also will be paid to ten other people who were paralyzed or suffered permanent brain damage in the October 1 shooting on the Las Vegas Strip. The nonprofit posted a chart projecting payments on a scale to a total of 532 people, including more than $10 million divided among 147 people who were hospitalized.

http://www.latimes.com/nation/nation...302-story.html

The Las Vegas shooter used bump stocks. A bid to ban them failed last year and the newest bid will probably fail, too. It would need Congressional approval, which is not likely in a Congress led by NRA-puppet Republicans.

Justice Department proposes banning rapid-fire bump stocks

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politi...D=ansmsnnews11

This is good news -- but I wonder how many hours will elapse before the NRA expresses its opposition and declares that a ban on bump stocks in unconstitutional. Maybe someone should explain to the NRA that killers using bump stocks and assault weapons are definitely not part of a "well-regulated militia."

Attorney Jeff Sessions announces rule effectively banning bump stocks

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/session...s-bump-stocks/

A meaningless gesture -- but it results in a lot of free publicity for the Golden Knights. Is my cynicism showing?

Las Vegas Golden Knights retire jersey number 58 to honor the 58 victims of last year's mass shooting

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/...b0f112dc9d2251