2017 Las Vegas shooting conspiracy theories
There is speculation that law enforcement, such as the FBI and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department are concealing information concerning the shooting, such as the motive or potential involvement of others.
[5] Conspiracy theories circulating online and in certain fringe groups contend that the federal government staged the 2017 Las Vegas shooting in order to justify the ban on bump stocks.
[14][15][16] On October 1, 2017, Stephen Paddock opened fire from his 32nd-floor hotel room at the Mandalay Bay during the Route 91 Harvest music festival in Las Vegas, killing 60 and injuring hundreds more.
The conspiracy theory surrounding the 2017 Las Vegas shooting suggests that there was government involvement or cover-up due to inconsistencies in the official narrative and the quick closure of the investigation.
Radio host and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones popularized this theory, claiming that Paddock selected a country music festival because it was likely to be attended by "pro-gun folks and Trump supporters."
These included assertions that Paddock had recently converted to Islam, wrongly portraying him as a left-leaning Democrat who watched mainstream liberal media, and that he was a "antifa Bernie Bro.
Despite the group's history of claiming credit for various attacks, such as the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016, regardless of actual involvement, this theory found support among certain conspiracy theorists.
[36] Brad Johnson, a retired CIA officer, and Rich Higgins, a former Pentagon official who served on the National Security Council during the Trump administration, argue that the Las Vegas shooting was orchestrated by a coalition of left-wing activists and Islamic extremists with political motives.
In a Politico report, Higgins, who served as the National Security Council's strategic planning director for a few months, stated that there is substantial evidence linking ISIS to the attack.
"[40] Proponents of this view, including Alex Jones, claim that the incident was a false flag operation aimed to push a certain political objective, such as gun control.
[43] The leaking of crime scene photographs from Stephen Paddock's suite after the Las Vegas massacre has fueled conspiracy theories due to questions of lack of transparency.
An anonymous 4chan member going by the name "John" posted a warning to "stay away" from Las Vegas on the sixteenth anniversary of 9/11, citing an imminent deadly attack.
[60] Proponents of this conspiracy theory often selectively reference eyewitness testimonies and raise questions about how Paddock managed to transport numerous weapons into his hotel room.
[61] Some eyewitness accounts of the chaotic event have indeed included claims of multiple shooters, such as one posted to social media shortly after the shooting by a survivor named Kymberley Suchomel.
[64] A 30-minute video published by Natural News that purported to use forensic sound analysis to prove the existence was multiple shooters was removed from YouTube after receiving over 1 million views.
[citation needed] Other conspiracy theorists have focused on a blue strobe light visible in some videos, arguing that it could have been coming from a different window than the white and orange flashes interpreted as gunfire.
