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Was Stephen Paddock trying to cause huge explosion? Vegas gunman 'fired shots at two giant fuel tanks'

Stephen Paddock opened fire from his Las Vegas hotel room, with the red square showing the festival site where he killed 58 people. The circle represents the fuel tanks
Stephen Paddock opened fire from his Las Vegas hotel room, with the red square showing the festival site where he killed 58 people. The circle represents the fuel tanks

Las Vegas killer Stephen Paddock reportedly fired shots at two tanks containing aviation fuel during his reign of terror that killed 59 people on Sunday night.

According to the Las Vegas Review Journal, Paddock’s bullets left holes in one of two white tanks, but they did not cause an explosion.

The tanks are reportedly located only 1,100 feet from the concert site where Paddock killed 58 people on Sunday evening, and they have now been examined by FBI agents as they continue to investigate the atrocity.

The fuel tanks were located within Paddock’s firing line
The fuel tanks were located within Paddock’s firing line
Las Vegas killer Stephen Paddock fired shots at jet fuel tanks
Las Vegas killer Stephen Paddock fired shots at jet fuel tanks


Before the shooting took place, Paddock had smashed two windows in his 32nd floor hotel suite – one being in line with the festival site, and the other providing him with a direct line of vision to the fuel tanks.

It is believed that they are owned by Swissport, the company tasked with leading fuelling operations for Las Vegas’ McCarran international airport.

Air Force One departs Las Vegas past the broken windows on the Mandalay Bay hotel, where shooter Stephen Paddock conducted his mass shooting. (REUTERS)
Air Force One departs Las Vegas past the broken windows on the Mandalay Bay hotel, where shooter Stephen Paddock conducted his mass shooting. (REUTERS)
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Speaking to the Las Vegas Review Journal, aviation consultant Mike Boyd explained that it was extremely hard to ignite jet fuel with bullets.

‘A machine gun is not going to blow up a tank of fuel’, he said.

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‘Jet fuel itself sitting there in a big wet pile is very hard to ignite. You have to be a very amateur terrorist to think anything like that.’

Meanwhile, Paddock’s girlfriend Marilou Danley has arrived back in the US for questioning – releasing a statement in which she has claimed that she was ‘sent away’ to the Philippines by Paddock to prevent her from thwarting his plans.