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| Marilou Danley, girlfriend of Las Vegas gunman, saw 'no warning' of violence | |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| The Las Vegas gunman’s girlfriend spoke publicly for the first time since the shooting, saying Wednesday that she had no idea of the massacre he was plotting when he sent her on a trip abroad to see her family. | |
| “It never occurred to me in any way whatsoever that he was planning violence against anyone,” Marilou Danley, 62, said in a statement read by her attorney Matthew Lombard outside FBI headquarters in Los Angeles. Danley returned from her native Philippines on Tuesday and was being questioned for much of the next day by FBI agents. | |
| She also said: “He never said anything to me or took any action that I was aware of that I understood in any way to be a warning that something horrible like this was going to happen.” | |
| Danley, who has been called a “person of interest” by investigators, said she was initially pleased when Stephen Paddock wired her money in the Philippines to buy a house for her family but later feared it was a way to break up with her. Paddock wired $100,000 to the Philippines days before the shooting, a US official not authorized to speak publicly because of the continuing investigation said on condition of anonymity. | |
| When she landed at Los Angeles international airport on Tuesday night, so did investigators’ best chance to understand the reasons for the carnage that unfolded on the Las Vegas strip on Sunday. | |
| “We have a lot of questions,” the Las Vegas undersheriff Kevin McMahill told reporters. | “We have a lot of questions,” the Las Vegas undersheriff Kevin McMahill told reporters. |
| When Danley landed, the 62-year-old mother and grandmother was met by FBI agents eager to learn what she knew about the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history, committed by a man she had lived with for more than four years, according to public records. | When Danley landed, the 62-year-old mother and grandmother was met by FBI agents eager to learn what she knew about the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history, committed by a man she had lived with for more than four years, according to public records. |
| Danley left the airport in a wheelchair escorted by agents, but was reportedly not placed under arrest. There were no indications from authorities as to how willing she was to speak to investigators. | Danley left the airport in a wheelchair escorted by agents, but was reportedly not placed under arrest. There were no indications from authorities as to how willing she was to speak to investigators. |
| “They don’t know a lot about who the girlfriend is and why she left the country a week prior to the shooting,” said the Nevada senator Dean Heller, who had been briefed by authorities. “She is someone they need to have this discussion with to better understand the shooting and what his thought process was.” | “They don’t know a lot about who the girlfriend is and why she left the country a week prior to the shooting,” said the Nevada senator Dean Heller, who had been briefed by authorities. “She is someone they need to have this discussion with to better understand the shooting and what his thought process was.” |
| Danley, Stephen Paddock’s longtime girlfriend, had arrived in the Philippines on 15 September, according to documents obtained by the Associated Press news agency. She then left for three days and returned again on 22 September before returning to the US late on Tuesday. | Danley, Stephen Paddock’s longtime girlfriend, had arrived in the Philippines on 15 September, according to documents obtained by the Associated Press news agency. She then left for three days and returned again on 22 September before returning to the US late on Tuesday. |
| So far, little is publicly known of Danley. According to Paddock’s brother Eric, she met Paddock when she was working as a casino hostess at the Atlantis in Reno, Nevada. Paddock was a frequent gambler, according to his brother and to an Australian acquaintance who spoke to the Guardian. Casino records showed he commonly wagered $10,000 or more a day. | So far, little is publicly known of Danley. According to Paddock’s brother Eric, she met Paddock when she was working as a casino hostess at the Atlantis in Reno, Nevada. Paddock was a frequent gambler, according to his brother and to an Australian acquaintance who spoke to the Guardian. Casino records showed he commonly wagered $10,000 or more a day. |
| “They were adorable – big man, tiny woman. He loved her. He doted on her,” Eric Paddock told the Washington Post. The two often gambled side by side, he said. | “They were adorable – big man, tiny woman. He loved her. He doted on her,” Eric Paddock told the Washington Post. The two often gambled side by side, he said. |
| Danley is from the Philippines but has Australian citizenship, Australian authorities have said. | |
| Danley’s sister, who lives in Queensland, described Marilou as a “good person” and said she would not have known about Paddock’s plot. | Danley’s sister, who lives in Queensland, described Marilou as a “good person” and said she would not have known about Paddock’s plot. |
| “I know that she doesn’t know anything as well, like us. She was sent away. She was away, so that she will not be there to interfere with what he’s planning,” the sister, whose name was not revealed, told the Seven Network. Danley was “madly in love” with Paddock, her sister said. | “I know that she doesn’t know anything as well, like us. She was sent away. She was away, so that she will not be there to interfere with what he’s planning,” the sister, whose name was not revealed, told the Seven Network. Danley was “madly in love” with Paddock, her sister said. |
| Meanwhile, in Las Vegas, employees of a Starbucks that Paddock and Danley frequented told the LA Times that they often observed him berating her. | Meanwhile, in Las Vegas, employees of a Starbucks that Paddock and Danley frequented told the LA Times that they often observed him berating her. |
| Esperanza Mendoza, the shop’s supervisor, said the abuse came when Danley would ask to use his casino card to make a purchase. The cards, a common form of currency on the Vegas strip, allow gamblers to spend credits earned on electronic gaming machines. | Esperanza Mendoza, the shop’s supervisor, said the abuse came when Danley would ask to use his casino card to make a purchase. The cards, a common form of currency on the Vegas strip, allow gamblers to spend credits earned on electronic gaming machines. |
| Mendoza said: “He would glare down at her and say – with a mean attitude – ‘You don’t need my casino card for this. I’m paying for your drink, just like I’m paying for you.’ Then she would softly say, ‘OK,’ and step back behind him. He was so rude to her in front of us.” | Mendoza said: “He would glare down at her and say – with a mean attitude – ‘You don’t need my casino card for this. I’m paying for your drink, just like I’m paying for you.’ Then she would softly say, ‘OK,’ and step back behind him. He was so rude to her in front of us.” |
| Fifty-nine people were killed and more than 500 injured Sunday night when Paddock broke the windows of his 32nd floor hotel suite and began firing multiple semi-automatic rifles into the crowd at a country music concert. Many of the rifles had been modified with bump stock devices that allow the rifles to fire at a speed similar to that of an automatic weapon. | Fifty-nine people were killed and more than 500 injured Sunday night when Paddock broke the windows of his 32nd floor hotel suite and began firing multiple semi-automatic rifles into the crowd at a country music concert. Many of the rifles had been modified with bump stock devices that allow the rifles to fire at a speed similar to that of an automatic weapon. |
| So far, no motive has been discovered for the shooting and investigators said they “haven’t absolutely ruled out anything”. | So far, no motive has been discovered for the shooting and investigators said they “haven’t absolutely ruled out anything”. |