Las Vegas Gunman Rented a Room Near Festival Where Chance, Lorde, Other Artists Performed
On Sunday, Stephen Paddock killed 58 people and injured more than 500 others when he opened fire on Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas. Paddock killed himself before police were able to take him into custody. Police have now confirmed that one week prior to the attack in Mandalay Bay, Paddock had previously rented a room overlooking another Vegas festival, Life Is Beautiful. The festival took place across 18 city blocks in downtown Vegas from September 22-24. The event featured performances from Chance the Rapper, Lorde, Gorillaz, the xx, MGMT, Muse, Haim, Blink-182, and many others. Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said in a press conference that it’s unclear why Paddock rented a room at the Ogden. “Was he doing pre-surveillance? We don’t know yet,” he said.
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Justin Weniger, CEO of Life Is Beautiful, shared the following note after the attack:
The Life is Beautiful Festival family is devastated by the horrific events that took place on Oct. 1 in our hometown of Las Vegas. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone in our community, the victims, their families and the first responders. Life is Beautiful is founded in the beliefs of community and our collective love for each other and the arts as well as making the world a more beautiful and loving place. In the wake of this tragedy, we gather strength from these ideals and urge everyone to come together as a community, support and love one another. We will overcome the hate and the divisiveness together. We will lean on each other to move forward and to create a world in which love is the only option.
This story originally appeared on Pitchfork.
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