What the Las Vegas Shooter Looked Up in Boston

He researched more locations around Fenway Park.


photo via istock.com/denisTangneyJr

Three months after the worst mass shooting in modern American history, police in Las Vegas on Friday shared more of the information they’ve learned about the man responsible, including his research into Boston venues.

A new 81-page preliminary report from Las Vegas police shows that, as had previously been reported, shooter Stephen Paddock had researched information about Fenway Park and the Boston Center for the Arts from his computer.

Paddock killed 58 people and injured more than 800 others in October by firing at a country music concert from his hotel window.

According to the new report, he also Googled several other venues and institutions in the area in addition to Fenway and the BCA: the Royal Rooters’ Club, the Blandford Street MBTA station, Boston University’s Questrom School of Business, the Hotel Buckminster, and the Red Sox team store.

That same day, his computer records show, he searched for the terms “summer concerts 2017,” “open air concert venues,” and “biggest open air concert venues in USA.”

There is no evidence he traveled to Boston.

When word got out through the media that the shooter had scouted venues in the city, police stepped up security at outdoor concerts and at Fenway Park.

Police investigating the case said Friday they have still not identified a motive. Paddock has not been linked to any extremist groups, he did not write a manifesto or note, he was not believed to be in debt, and he left few other clues. Police did, however, find hundreds of images of child pornography on his computer.

“This report is not going to answer every question, or even answer the biggest question as to why he did what he did,” Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said in a news conference. “What this report will shed light on is the planning of the attack, the research that was done by Paddock in looking for public venues where crowds gathered, Paddock’s movements in the days leading up to the attack, and based on witness interviews and evidence, how Paddock carried out the attack.”