Las Vegas shooter reportedly searched for hotels near Fenway Park

Mike Oz

Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock searched out hotels near Fenway Park, according to a new report from NBC News. He also looked for hotels in Chicago, near the Lollapalooza music festival in August, according to NBC’s report, even booking a room at a nearby hotel. He did not, however, travel to Chicago nor did he book a hotel room near Fenway Park.

Paddock ultimately chose the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas and the Route 91 Harvest festival as the place to carry out his rampage, which killed 58 people and injured more than 500. As authorities try to piece together the “why?” of it all, these are some of the details they’ve reportedly discovered about Paddock’s plan:

Stephen Paddock’s potential targets included the most recent Lollapalooza festival in Chicago, which was held Aug. 3 to Aug. 6 in Grant Park, the officials said. Paddock, 64, went as far as booking a room in a Chicago hotel but did not show up, the officials said. Among the thousands of people who attended the festival was Malia Obama, daughter of former President Barack Obama.

He also researched hotels around Boston’s Fenway Park, a senior law enforcement official with direct knowledge of the matter told NBC News. Most hotels in the area, however, have an obstructed view of Fenway — or no view at all.

A general view of Boston's Fenway Park, which will host Game 3 of the ALDS on Sunday. (Getty Images)
A general view of Boston’s Fenway Park, which will host Game 3 of the ALDS on Sunday. (Getty Images)

It’s a chilling thought no matter the site Paddock scouted, but as a sports blog that covers baseball, the notion of Fenway Park is especially frightening during the postseason. As the NBC News story says, Fenway doesn’t have high-rise hotels nearby. But other sports stadiums do, which is sure to heighten public awareness in the weeks after the shooting:

Major League Baseball released a statement to Yahoo Sports on the matter saying:

“The safety and security of fans who attend MLB games are our highest priorities. MLB and its clubs work diligently with local and federal law enforcement to implement security plans in order to protect fans at each of our ballparks.”

Major League Baseball teams will host as many as 20 games in the Division Series round, which begins Thursday. Each game will draw between 35,000 and 50,000 people.

More MLB coverage from Yahoo Sports:

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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!