Mandalay Bay Hotel disputes new police timeline of shooting rampage
Mandalay Bay Hotel owner MGM has gone on the defensive and is disputing the official police line over what happened and when, just prior to the deadly mass shooting.
A new police account of the moments before the shooting say unarmed hotel security guard Jesus Campos was shot by gunman Stephen Paddock six minutes before the attack took place.
Paddock fired 200 bullets in the hall, raising questions about the hotel’s response to an active shooter on site.
This contradicts earlier police statements which said the security guard was shot after Paddock’s shooting rampage on a concert crowd.
Police said a wounded Campos did call in the initial shooting to hotel security officials several minutes earlier than originally thought, but the hotel seems to dispute this.
"We cannot be certain about the most recent timeline that has been communicated publicly and we believe what is currently being expressed may not be accurate," said MGM spokeswoman Debra DeShong.
"As evidenced by law enforcement briefings over the past week, many facts are still unverified and continue to change as events are under review.
The new revelation has raised questions about the actions of police and hotel security and whether either could have responded quicker.
Attorney Richard Patterson, who is representing the families of several victims, accused the hotel of negligence, and also took aim at the concert organizers.
"We are talking six minutes here. This is amazing and shocking that they didn’t respond faster. I think everybody’s question is, what if they had gotten there?" Patterson said.
"There are high-speed elevators to the 32nd floor. A couple of minutes make all the difference. At the very least, they could have distracted the killer, maybe they could have prevented it."
Another worrying aspect for the hotel is the apparent news Paddock had free access to the back of house service elevator, ABC News reported.
This may explain how he got such a large stockpile of weapons into his room without raising any suspicion.
Use of the service elevator is a perk for big spending high rollers.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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