Stephen Paddock, the gunman behind the shooting attack at Las Vegas's Route 91 Harvest Music Festival that left more than 58 people dead and over 500 wounded, had rented rooms overlooking two different music festivals this summer.
TMZ revealed on Thursday that Paddock rented two hotel rooms at the Blackstone Hotel in Chicago on August 1 and August 3. Lollapalooza was held from August 3-6. Paddock reportedly requested a "view room" – an accommodation looking down on Grant Park, where the festival was located. Lollapalooza was attended by 400,000 guests, including Malia Obama, and was headlined by acts like Chance The Rapper, Lorde, and The xx.
Sources claim that Paddock received a guaranteed view room, against company policy. He was not notified by the hotel of the guarantee, and never showed up to stay in the rooms.
Earlier this week, The Daily Beast reported that Paddock had rented multiple condos at the Ogden in Las Vegas, which looks onto the grounds of the Life Is Beautiful festival. The festival ran from September 22-24 with headliners Chance The Rapper and Lorde. The Beast's source "suggested that Paddock may have lost his nerve or simply changed his plans and checked into the Mandalay Bay Hotel on September 28." On October 2, Paddock opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel.