Was there a second shooter in Las Vegas?
No independent record supports a second gunman, and the best-known video was shown to be a light flashing two hours earlier. The police and FBI say he acted alone, but they are the parties the theories accuse. The staged-shooting claim is disproven.
- UnverifiedTheoryA second gunman fired on the crowd
- ✕ DisprovenTheoryThe shooting was staged and the victims were actors
What happened at the Route 91 Harvest festival on 1 October 2017, what the records say about whether the gunman acted alone, and why no motive has been found.
The question What happened at the Route 91 Harvest festival on 1 October 2017, did the gunman act alone, and why has no motive been found?
What the records say
The documented story holds up: 13 of 14 timeline steps are Confirmed by the records (score 98).
5 theories checked: 1 disproven, 4 unverified. A theory is rated by its key claim.
Released FBI files record a fellow gambler saying Paddock was angry at casinos
likelyReported by one reputable outlet so far, so it is rated Likely, not Confirmed. See the step
Down the rabbit hole
The ground line is the documented timeline. Each tunnel is a theory that branches off it; every chamber is a step, coloured by how well the records support it. The deepest chamber is the theory’s key claim. Tap one to open it.
Main timeline
Oldest first- Oct 2016 – Sep 2017confirmed
Stephen Paddock, 64, spends a year buying rifles and ammunition
The police report says he bought over 55 firearms, mostly rifles, in that year, all legally, and over 100 firearm-related items. The FBI’s panel called it “a year-long burst of firearms and ammunition acquisition.”
T1Las Vegas police final report, Aug 2018pp. 120, 126–127involved party: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (its response that night and its investigation are in question)T1FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit findings, Jan 2019p. 2involved party: FBI (its investigation is in question)T2NPR, 29 Jan 2019T2AP via Las Vegas Sun, 30 Mar 2023 - Aug – Sep 2017confirmed
He books rooms overlooking other open-air music festivals
He reserved a hotel room overlooking Lollapalooza in Chicago in August, then cancelled it, and in September stayed in units overlooking the Life is Beautiful festival in Las Vegas. Investigators could not tell whether he meant to attack there or was planning.
T1Las Vegas police final report, Aug 2018p. 127involved party: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (its response that night and its investigation are in question)T2AP via Las Vegas Sun, 30 Mar 2023T2Las Vegas Sun, 4 Oct 2017 - 25 Sep 2017confirmed
He checks into a 32nd-floor suite at Mandalay Bay that looks onto the festival site
The police report says he checked into room 32-135 on 25 September, added the connecting room 32-134 on 29 September, and brought up multiple suitcases over several days. The suite was free to him as a high-stakes gambler, and staff let him use a service elevator.
T1Las Vegas police final report, Aug 2018pp. 23, 28–31involved party: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (its response that night and its investigation are in question)T2AP via Las Vegas Sun, 30 Mar 2023T2NPR, 2 Oct 2017Sources disagreeThe final police report dates his check-in to Monday 25 September. On 2 October the sheriff said information suggested he had been in the room “since Thursday” (28 September), as NPR reported. - 1 Oct 2017, about 10:05 p.m.confirmed
Paddock fires from his windows into a crowd of more than 22,000 for about ten minutes
The crowd was watching the final act of the Route 91 Harvest festival across Las Vegas Boulevard. The police count about 1,057 rounds fired between 10:05 and 10:16 p.m., into the crowd, down the hotel hallway and at airport fuel tanks; the FBI says “over 1,000 rounds” over about eleven minutes.
T1Las Vegas police final report, Aug 2018pp. 24, 34–36, 125involved party: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (its response that night and its investigation are in question)T1FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit findings, Jan 2019p. 1involved party: FBI (its investigation is in question)T2NPR, 2 Oct 2017T2NBC News, 13 Oct 2017 - 1 Oct 2017, about 10:06 p.m.confirmed
A hotel security officer on the 32nd floor is shot in the leg
Security officer Jesus Campos had found the stairwell door on the 32nd floor screwed shut with an “L” bracket. He was hit by gunfire fired down the hallway, radioed that shots were being fired, and warned off a maintenance worker.
T1Las Vegas police final report, Aug 2018pp. 7, 33–34, 126involved party: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (its response that night and its investigation are in question)T2NBC News, 13 Oct 2017T2Las Vegas Sun, 4 Oct 2017 - 1 Oct 2017, 11:20 p.m.confirmed
Officers break into the suite and find Paddock dead from a self-inflicted gunshot
The gunfire had stopped about an hour earlier. Officers used explosives to breach the door, found him dead on the floor with a revolver nearby, and found rifles throughout both rooms. An autopsy on 6 October ruled his death a suicide.
T1Las Vegas police final report, Aug 2018pp. 37, 124–126involved party: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (its response that night and its investigation are in question)T2NPR, 10 Oct 2017T2NPR, 2 Oct 2017T2Las Vegas Sun, 4 Oct 2017 - 1 Oct 2017confirmed
Fifty-eight people are killed and hundreds are injured
Thirty-one people died at the venue and 27 in hospitals. The police counted about 869 people with documented injuries, about 413 of them from gunfire or shrapnel, and say the true number of gunshot injuries is not known.
T1Las Vegas police final report, Aug 2018pp. 19, 125involved party: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (its response that night and its investigation are in question)T2NPR, 2 Oct 2017T2AP via NBC News, 3 Aug 2018Sources disagreeThe final police report gives about 869 injured on p. 19, but “approximately 887” then “those 869” on p. 125. NPR reported 527 taken to hospitals on 2 Oct 2017; AP reported “more than 850” injured in 2020. - 2 Oct 2017confirmed
ISIS claims Paddock as one of its soldiers, and the FBI says it has found no link
The group’s Amaq news agency said he had converted to Islam months earlier, but offered no evidence. The FBI’s Las Vegas chief said it had “determined, to this point, no connection with an international terrorist group.”
- 9–13 Oct 2017confirmed
The official timeline changes twice, and the hotel’s owner disputes it
Police first said the security officer was shot after the attack on the crowd. On 9 October the sheriff said he was shot at 9:59 p.m., six minutes before it. MGM Resorts said that account “may not be accurate”, and on 13 October the sheriff said the shooting was “in close proximity” to 10:05 p.m.
- 3 Aug 2018confirmed
The Las Vegas police’s final report says Paddock acted alone and no motive was found
It says no evidence supports early reports of other shooters and that he “conspired with” no one, after 2,000 leads and 22,000 hours of video. It found no note, manifesto or link to any ideology, and says: “Regretfully, this report will not be able to address the why.”
T1Las Vegas police final report, Aug 2018pp. 9, 125–127involved party: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (its response that night and its investigation are in question)T2AP via NBC News, 3 Aug 2018 - 29 Jan 2019confirmed
An FBI panel finds “no single or clear motivating factor”
The FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit panel says he acted alone and had no political or religious aim. It points instead to a wish to die by suicide in a way that would bring “a certain degree of infamy”, as his health and finances declined.
T1FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit findings, Jan 2019pp. 1–2involved party: FBI (its investigation is in question)T2NPR, 29 Jan 2019 - 3 Oct 2019 – 30 Sep 2020confirmed
MGM Resorts settles with victims for $800 million without admitting liability
Victims had sued the hotel’s owner for letting a guest bring an arsenal into his room. A court approved the settlement for more than 4,400 victims and relatives on 30 September 2020; MGM paid $49 million and its insurers $751 million.
- 1 Oct 2020confirmed
The official death toll is raised to 60
Two women died later of their injuries; coroners in California and Clark County tied their deaths to their gunshot wounds. The sheriff added them to the count on the third anniversary.
- 30 Mar 2023likely
Released FBI files record a fellow gambler saying Paddock was angry at casinos
The documents, made public after a records request by the Wall Street Journal, include a gambler’s account that Paddock was “very upset” that casinos’ treatment of high rollers was fading. The police said, “We were unable to determine a motive for the shooter.”
Branches
Go down oneA branch is only as strong as its weakest step so far. The count is how many sources back each step.
“There was a second shooter”
Did someone else fire on the crowd, from a lower floor or the ground?
The day after the shooting the website Your News Wire published two videos it said showed “multiple shooters”, pointing to flashes on a lower floor of Mandalay Bay. A video making the fourth-floor claim was the first YouTube result for “Las Vegas shooting” on 4 Oct 2017.
- more than 200,000 Facebook and other interactions with Your News Wire’s “multiple shooters” report (CrowdTangle, as reported by The New York Times) as of 4 Oct 2017 T2New York Times fact check, 4 Oct 2017
- 1,578,564 YouTube views, Tucker Carlson’s interview with Ian Carroll (chapters include “Were There Multiple Shooters?”) as of 13 Oct 2026 T3YouTube: Tucker Carlson and Ian Carroll
- 8,853 YouTube views, “Las Vegas Shooting: Evidence of 2nd Shooter in Inexplicable 19 Seconds..?” (John Cullen) as of 13 Oct 2026 T3YouTube: John Cullen
Videos show gunfire from a lower floor
Your News Wire said both videos “show gunfire originating from the fourth floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel”.
The premise: disprovenThe flashing light was there two hours before the shooting and after it, and the light and the gunshot sounds do not match. No fourth-floor windows were broken.
Police radio reported several shooters
Proponents point to early scanner traffic and survivors who said they heard gunfire from more than one place.
The premise: confirmedTrue: the early radio traffic was confused and reported shooters at several places. Within minutes officers placed the gunfire one floor above them, and no other shooter was found.
T2New York Times fact check, 4 Oct 2017T2Snopes, 3 Oct 2017T1Las Vegas police final report, Aug 2018p. 125involved party: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (its response that night and its investigation are in question)Acoustic analysis puts a second gun about half the distance away
A Natural News analysis of bullet-strike and gunshot timing said one set of shots came from about 250–275 yards, not the roughly 400 yards to the 32nd floor.
The premise: unverifiedNo independent tier 1–2 source found for this case tested the analysis, for or against it. It has not been checked here.
The sheriff himself said Paddock must have had help
A NewsTarget article quotes Sheriff Lombardo: “he had to have some help at some point”.
The premise: confirmedHe said it, about how the arsenal was assembled, not about a second gunman. Ten months later his department’s report said nothing indicated Paddock conspired with anyone.
T2Reuters via Global News, 5 Oct 2017T2Las Vegas Sun, 4 Oct 2017T1Las Vegas police final report, Aug 2018p. 126involved party: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (its response that night and its investigation are in question)
- confirmed
In the first minutes, police radio carried reports of shooters in several places
Officers relayed conflicting reports of where shots came from, and of shooters at other properties. The police report later called these reports inaccurate.
T2New York Times fact check, 4 Oct 2017T2Snopes, 3 Oct 2017T1Las Vegas police final report, Aug 2018p. 125involved party: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (its response that night and its investigation are in question)StartStrength so far:confirmed· 3 sources on this step - confirmed
Officers on the 31st floor heard the automatic fire coming from the floor above
On the radio an officer said: “I can hear the automatic fire coming from one ahead — one floor above us.” Officers then gave the room number on the 32nd floor.
= HoldsStrength so far:confirmed· 2 sources on this step - confirmed
The “muzzle flashes” on a lower floor came from a light that flashed all night
The New York Times found the light and the gunshot sounds in the videos do not match, and footage from before and after the shooting shows the same light flashing. One concertgoer’s video shows it two hours before the shooting.
= HoldsStrength so far:confirmed· 3 sources on this step - likely
Only Paddock’s key card opened his two rooms
Hotel lock records show no other card opened either door from outside; cards issued to other guests were refused. This comes from the police report alone.
T1Las Vegas police final report, Aug 2018p. 107involved party: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (its response that night and its investigation are in question)▼ WeakerStrength so far:likely· 1 source on this step - unverified
Key claim: a second gunman fired on the crowd
No tier 1–2 record supports it, and its best-known evidence was shown independently to be a strobe light. But the finding that no one else fired comes from the police and the FBI, whose own investigation is in question, so this site cannot rate it Disproven.
T2New York Times fact check, 4 Oct 2017T1Las Vegas police final report, Aug 2018p. 126involved party: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (its response that night and its investigation are in question)T1FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit findings, Jan 2019p. 1involved party: FBI (its investigation is in question)▼ WeakerStrength so far:unverified· 3 sources on this step
Bullshit meter
- Key claim: a second gunman fired on the crowd. Unverified.
- Key claim contradicted by tier 1? Not by an independent record. No tier 1–2 record supports a second gunman, and independent reporters showed its main video evidence was a light flashing before the shooting began. The finding that Paddock acted alone rests on the police and FBI.
Fluff meter: possibly planted
- Can’t be traced to an original record. Absent: it traces to real concert videos and real radio traffic.
- First appeared from new or anonymous accounts. Not measured.
- Coordinated identical wording. Not measured.
- Cited source doesn’t exist. Absent: the videos exist.
- Later contradicted. Present: footage from two hours before the shooting shows the same flashing light.
● present · ○ absent · – not measured. Lists signals only. It never accuses anyone.
Personal interest meter
- The Las Vegas police and the FBI, ran the investigation that concluded Paddock acted alone; the timing of the police response that night has itself been questioned. T2NPR, 10 Oct 2017
- Your News Wire and similar sites, were, Snopes says, “taking advantage of the chaos and confusion to push conspiracy theories and collect resulting ad revenue”. T2Snopes, 3 Oct 2017
“Has a documented interest” only, each one sourced. Never an implication of guilt.
Correlation meter
- Security officer Jesus Campos, is in the main timeline (shot at about 10:06 p.m.) and at the centre of the timeline dispute in the motive branch. T2NBC News, 13 Oct 2017
- Sheriff Lombardo’s 4 Oct 2017 remark that Paddock “had some help”, is cited for the second-shooter theory and set against his department’s 2018 finding that he acted alone. T2Reuters via Global News, 5 Oct 2017
- The $150,000 Paddock wired to his girlfriend’s account, is used by the ISIS theory; the police report records three $50,000 transfers for a home in the Philippines. T1Las Vegas police final report, Aug 2018p. 114involved party: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (its response that night and its investigation are in question)
- The police final report, is the main record against the second-shooter, ISIS, motive and arms-deal theories, and is counted as an interested party throughout. T1Las Vegas police final report, Aug 2018pp. 125–127involved party: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (its response that night and its investigation are in question)
- MGM Resorts, disputed the police timeline in 2017 and settled with victims in 2019–2020 without admitting liability. T2AP via NBC News, 30 Sep 2020
Links to other cases appear once those cases exist.
Who worked on this
This case was assembled by the site from public records. Contributions are not open yet. Nothing here is invented, so the counts are zero.
This is the first published version of the case.
Sources
- T1involved party: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (its response that night and its investigation are in question) LVMPD Criminal Investigative Report of the 1 October Mass Casualty Shooting, LVMPD Event Number 171001-3519, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Force Investigation Team, Sheriff Joseph Lombardo, 3 Aug 2018 (187 pages). www.lvmpd.com · copy read: vpc.org
- T1involved party: FBI (its investigation is in question) Key Findings of the Behavioral Analysis Unit’s Las Vegas Review Panel (LVRP), U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, released 29 Jan 2019 (3 pages). www.fbi.gov
- T2“Las Vegas Shooting Update: At Least 59 People Are Dead After Gunman Attacks Concert”, NPR (Bill Chappell), 2 Oct 2017. www.npr.org
- T2“ISIS claim of responsibility in Las Vegas shooting is sign of desperation, say experts”, NBC News, 3 Oct 2017. www.nbcnews.com
- T2“ISIS claim of link to Las Vegas shooter is a sign terror group is ‘desperate’ to remain relevant, experts say”, CNBC (Jeff Daniels), 2 Oct 2017. www.cnbc.com
- T2“Did a Second Gunman Shoot From the Fourth Floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel?”, Snopes (Bethania Palma), 3 Oct 2017. www.snopes.com
- T2“Fact check: No, there was not more than one gunman in the Las Vegas shooting”, The New York Times (Linda Qiu), 4 Oct 2017, as republished by The Seattle Times. www.seattletimes.com
- T2“Search ‘Las Vegas shooting’ on YouTube, and a conspiracy theory might be the first hit”, Global News (Jesse Ferreras), 4 Oct 2017. globalnews.ca
- T2“Lombardo details shooting timeline, says gunman planned to survive, escape”, Las Vegas Sun (with the Associated Press), 4 Oct 2017. lasvegassun.com
- T2“Las Vegas shooting: Stephen Paddock may have ‘had some help at some point’”, Reuters (Alexandria Sage, Sharon Bernstein), as published by Global News, 5 Oct 2017. globalnews.ca
- T2“Las Vegas Gunman Shot Security Guard Before Firing Into Crowd, Police Say”, NPR (Colin Dwyer), 10 Oct 2017. www.npr.org
- T2“MGM Resorts disputes police timeline of Las Vegas shooting”, Associated Press, as published by Fox News, 11 Oct 2017. www.foxnews.com
- T2“Sheriff Insists ‘No Conspiracy’ as Las Vegas Shooting Timeline Changes Again”, NBC News (Erik Ortiz), 13 Oct 2017. www.nbcnews.com
- T2“He took a bullet to the head in Las Vegas. Now, online conspiracists call him a faker”, Global News (Jesse Ferreras), 27 Oct 2017. globalnews.ca
- T2“Questions remain unanswered about Las Vegas shooting timeline: 20/20 Part 1”, ABC News, YouTube, 30 Oct 2017. www.youtube.com
- T2“Ammunition Seller Charged In Connection With Las Vegas Shooting”, NPR (Vanessa Romo), 2 Feb 2018. www.npr.org
- T2“Las Vegas shooting: No motive, no 2nd shooter in massacre, sheriff says”, The Associated Press, as published by NBC News, 3 Aug 2018. www.nbcnews.com
- T2“FBI Finds No Motive In Las Vegas Shooting, Closes Investigation”, NPR (Vanessa Romo), 29 Jan 2019. www.npr.org
- T2“Las Vegas Shooting Settlement: MGM Resorts To Pay Up To $800 Million”, NPR (Bobby Allyn), 3 Oct 2019. www.npr.org
- T2“Arizona man who sold ammo to Las Vegas gunman pleads guilty”, NBC News (Pete Williams), 19 Nov 2019. www.nbcnews.com
- T2“Court approves $800M settlement for MGM Resorts, Vegas shooting victims”, The Associated Press, as published by NBC News, 30 Sep 2020. www.nbcnews.com
- T2“How did 1 October shooting deaths increase officially to 60 victims?”, KTNV Channel 13 Las Vegas, 13 Investigates, 1 Oct 2020. www.ktnv.com
- T2“Video doesn’t prove two gunmen during the Las Vegas shooting. Authorities say he acted alone”, PolitiFact, 21 Oct 2022. www.politifact.com
- T2“New FBI docs: Las Vegas mass shooter was angry at casinos”, Associated Press (Rio Yamat, Ken Ritter), as published by the Las Vegas Sun, 30 Mar 2023. lasvegassun.com
- T3“The conspiracy theories being spread about the Las Vegas massacre”, Media Matters for America, 4 Oct 2017 (a record of what was posted; Media Matters is an advocacy group). www.mediamatters.org
- T3“Health Ranger: ‘Acoustic forensic evidence’ proves more than one shooter at Vegas massacre”, NewsTarget (J.D. Heyes), Oct 2017 (record of the claim). www.newstarget.com
- T3“What They Don’t Want You to Know About the Las Vegas Shooting False Flag, w. Ole Dammegard”, The System is Down, YouTube, 22 Oct 2017. www.youtube.com
- T3“Las Vegas Shooting: Evidence of 2nd Shooter in Inexplicable 19 Seconds..?”, John Cullen, YouTube, 5 Jul 2018. www.youtube.com
- T3“Saagar CALLS OUT New BS Las Vegas Shooting Explanation”, Breaking Points, YouTube, 8 Apr 2023. www.youtube.com
- T3“2017 Las Vegas Shooting COVER-UP? FBI Whistleblower Suggests Feds Know the Truth”, Glenn Beck, YouTube, 2 Mar 2025 (record of the claim, quoted in the video description). www.youtube.com
- T3“Ian Carroll on America’s Deadliest Mass Shooting and Unanswered Questions They Don’t Want You to Ask”, Tucker Carlson, YouTube, 2 Jan 2026 (chapters include “Were There Multiple Shooters?” and “Was Saudi Arabia Involved?”). www.youtube.com
- T3“Vegas Shooter’s Motive Still ‘Unknown’”, Tucker Carlson Network, YouTube, 2 Jan 2026. www.youtube.com
- T2“ISIS claims responsibility for Las Vegas shooting massacre”, Fox News, YouTube, 2 Oct 2017 (a news report of the claim). www.youtube.com