Last content update and data verfication was on Wednesday, October 16, 2024, at 06:25:34 (America/New York — EST — UTC -5) by MEB MediaX Webmaster or authorized designee.
Details
- Mass Shooting
- Route 91 Harvest Music Festival
- Municipality
- Las Vegas
- State
- Nevada – NV
- Zip Code
- 89119
- Region
- West
- Division
- Mountain
- Incident Date
- October 1, 2017
- Venue Type
- Music Festival
- Killed
- 58
- Injured
- 489
Ranking Data
- Preventable Factors/Rankings
- Blatant Rankings - Points Doubled
- 0
- Preventable Rankings Score
- 10
- Preventable Status
- Debatable/Inconclusive
Preventable Factors
- Preventable Factor Details
Last content update and data verfication was on Wednesday, October 16, 2024, at 06:25:34 (America/New York — EST — UTC -5) by MEB MediaX Webmaster or authorized designee.
Takeaway(s):
—Accelerate/prioritize investigations involving possible amassment of guns by individuals.
—Lodging establishments should implement a “bag system.” Refer to the section “Hotels – Vulnerabilities – Bags Are Part and Parcel to the Operation of Hotels” in the recently released book Soft Targets and Crowded Places (ST-CP).
—Amend federal law to require gun stores to report multiple rifle purchases (in addition to handgun purchases) to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATFE).
—Like machine guns, bump stocks need to be banned for civilians.
—We need to arm lots more security officers. Refer to the section “Some Proposed Solutions – Security Officers – Arm More of Them” in the recently released book Soft Targets and Crowded Places (ST-CP).
Incident Preventable Factor(s):
—Behavioral Red Flags Ignored/Response Delayed – Perpetrator Behavior Personally Erratic/Deviated from Individual/Societal Norms:
Perpetrator bought more than 55 guns* and more than 100 accessories, and large quantities of ammunition in the year prior to the incident. 1 Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD)“detectives ‘keyed on’ the perpetrator’s gun purchases in the two years before the mass shooting and were exploring whether there was some event there, but were still investigating” on October 1, 2017. 2
During a five-day period prior to the incident the perpetrator brought 22 bags, many of which were heavy and large, into his guest suites at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino all/most of which contained, but were not necessarily limited to, guns, gun accessories, and ammunition. In fact, after the incident 23 guns were found in his guest suites. 3 4 MGM Resorts International (MGM) will pay victims of the mass shooting up to $800 million to resolve claims it was negligent in allowing the shooter to stockpile weapons and ammunition inside its property. 5
Editor’s Note:
Due diligence has yet to offer any scenario where the cumulative importation of bags (by count, size, and/or weight) by the perpetrator was “summed” by different utilized bellhops. Going forward, systems need to be implemented for such calculations, but in 2017 the need was unheard of and unnecessary.
—Gun Laws Inadequate – Inadequate Gun Law(s) Contributed to Perpetrator Execution of the Incident:
*Federal law requires gun stores to report multiple handgun purchases to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATFE), but not multiple rifle purchases. 6
—Gun Laws Inadequate – Inadequate Gun Law(s) Exacerbated the Incident:
Perpetrator had 14 AR-15 rifles (all of which were equipped with bump stocks and twelve of which had 100-round magazines) in his guest suites. 7 (Bump stocks allow ammunition to be fired in quick succession, nearly as fast as an automatic weapon.) The perpetrator fired a total of 1,058 rounds from fifteen of the firearms: 1,049 from twelve AR-15-style rifles, eight from two AR-10-style rifles, and the round used to kill himself from the Smith & Wesson revolver. 8 In one 31-second span, he fired a staggering 280 rounds. Every second, that’s roughly nine bullets. 9
Editor’s Note:
The final rule banning bump stocks issued on December 18, 2018 by the U.S. Department of Justice and as of March 26, 2019, bump stocks were illegal for almost all civilians, but multiple lawsuits are pending that challenge that rule. 10 However, on March 21, 2021, a divided federal court said the ban must be put on hold because it was unlawful. 11
—Venue Lacked Armed Individuals/Personnel – Venue Lacked Armed Individuals (Civilians)/Personnel (Military/Police/Security):
The security officer who first “confronted” the perpetrator outside his guest suites was unarmed. The perpetrator fired “well over 200 rounds” into the hallway when the security officer approached. 12 Had the security officer be able to return fire it might have distracted the perpetrator for even longer meaning less casualties at the music festival.
Source(s):
1. DeMille, David. January 19, 2018. “Report: Las Vegas Gunman Had Purchased at Least 55 Guns Over Previous Year”. The Spectrum. Retrieved June 25, 2021, from https://www.thespectrum.com/story/news/2018/01/19/report-las-vegas-gunman-had-purchased-least-55-guns-over-previous-year/1049925001/.
2. Washington Post. October 5, 2017. “Girlfriend of Las Vegas Gunman: ‘It never occurred to me … that he was planning violence'” The Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved June 25, 2021, from https://www.tampabay.com/news/nation/girlfriend-of-las-vegas-gunman-it-never-occurred-to-me-8230-that-he-was/2339934/.
3. None. October 2, 2017. “Multiple Weapons Found in Las Vegas Gunman’s Hotel Room”. The New York Times. Retereived June 25, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/02/us/las-vegas-shooting.html.
4. Allyn, Bobby. October 3, 2019. “MGM Resorts To Pay Up To $800 Million In Las Vegas Shooting Settlement”. NPR. Retrieved June 25, 2021, from https://www.npr.org/2019/10/03/766800480/mgm-resorts-to-pay-up-to-800-million-to-victims-of-las-vegas-shooting.
5. Oppel, Richard A., Jr. October. 3, 2019. “MGM Agrees to Pay Las Vegas Shooting Victims Up to $800 Million”. The New York Times. Retrieved June 25, 2021, from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/03/us/mgm-las-vegas-shooting-settlement.html.
6. DeMille, David. January 19, 2018. “Report: Las Vegas Gunman Had Purchased at Least 55 Guns Over Previous Year”. The Spectrum. Retrieved June 25, 2021, from https://www.thespectrum.com/story/news/2018/01/19/report-las-vegas-gunman-had-purchased-least-55-guns-over-previous-year/1049925001/.
7. None. Last Edited on May 24, 2021. “2017 Las Vegas Shooting”. Wikipedia. Retrieved June 25, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Las_Vegas_shooting.
8. None. Last Edited on May 24, 2021. “2017 Las Vegas Shooting”. Wikipedia. Retrieved June 25, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Las_Vegas_shooting.
9. McShane, Larry and Rayman, Graham. October 2, 2017. “Las Vegas Terrorist Stephen Paddock fired 280 Rounds In 31 Seconds Into Concert Crowd, Killing 59: ‘It was like a war zone.’” New York Daily News. Retrieved June 25, 2021, from https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/las-vegas-terrorist-fired-280-rounds-concert-crowd-article-1.3537388.
10. None. Last Edited May 24, 2021. “Bump Stock”. Wikipedia. Retrieved June 25, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bump_stock#.
11. Flood, Brian. March 25, 2021. “Federal Bump Stock Ban Blocked by Divided Appeals Court”. Bloomberg Law. Retrieved June 25, 2021 from https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/federal-bump-stock-ban-blocked-by-divided-appeals-court.
12. Jacobo, Julia. October 6, 2017. “Security Guard Who Found Vegas Gunman Was Alone and Unarmed: ‘I was just doing my job.'”. ABC News. Retereived on June 25, 2021, from https://abcnews.go.com/US/security-guard-las-vegas-gunman-unarmed/story?id=50290318.
Fluidity
- Criminal Case Pending?
- Civil Litigation Pending?
- Trending
- ⯅
Administrative Information
- Credible Source Inquires?
- 12
- Are Credible Source Inquires Inline Endnotes?
- Yes
- Assessment Status?
- Complete
- Editorial Board Approval?
- Yes
Record Information
- Last Updated
- Lexar
- Record ID
- 2
- Private ID
- 5D7035K
- Date Recorded
- 2021-05-13 12:37:16
- Date Updated
- 2023-10-22 03:07:31
- Last Accessed
- Type Designation