I-TEAM: Las Vegas massacre gunman lived in central Florida

Shooter lived in Brevard County from 2013-2015

A 64-year-old gunman who opened fire Sunday night on a country music festival on the Las Vegas strip lived in central Florida from 2013-2015, News4Jax has learned.

The I-TEAM has been looking into Stephen Paddock's background and found he lived in Melbourne, in Brevard County, for two years. He bought a new home in April 2013 for $246,000 and sold it in May 2015 for $235,000.

He was a licensed pilot and had a hunting and fishing license in Texas. His private pilot certificate was issued Nov. 17, 2003, and he was rated for single-engine planes. His last medical exam for his pilot certification was in February 2008 -- and for pilots over age 40, medical exams are only good for two years.

It appears Paddock previously owned two planes.

He worked as a manager at an apartment complex outside Dallas and had no previous criminal history.

Lockheed Martin said in a statement that Paddock worked for a predecessor company of Lockheed Martin from 1985 to 1988. "We’re cooperating with authorities to answer questions they may have about Mr. Paddock and his time with the company," Lockheed Martin said.

Firing from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel, Paddock killed nearly 60 people and hundreds more were wounded in the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

The 2016 shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, where 49 were slain, previously held the infamous distinction.

Officers engaged Paddock, but Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Sheriff Joseph Lombardo said it's believed Paddock killed himself before police made entry.

"Right now, we believe it's a sole actor, a lone-wolf-type actor," said Lombardo.

Shortly after the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the shooting, saying Paddock had converted to Islam months ago, the FBI in Las Vegas refuted the claim, saying Paddock had "no connection to international terror groups."

Although Paddock lived in Brevard County, the sheriff's office said it never had any interaction with him.

“According to our records, we have had no contact with him,” Brevard County sheriff's spokesman Tod Goodyear said.

Some family members of Paddock live in Orlando.

"We are completely dumbfounded," Eric Paddock, the brother of Stephen Paddock, told the Orlando Sentinel. "We can't understand what happened."

Eric Paddock also told the newspaper that he has already made a statement to police.

Nicole Paddock, Stephen Paddock's niece who lives in east Orlando, told WKMG reporter Mark Lehman that she learned about the shooting as she woke up. She said she was "shocked and disturbed" to learn that her uncle was named as the shooter. She said she was not prepared to make a full statement. It's unclear if she's been contacted by police.

"We are thinking of all of those affected by the horrific mass shooting in Las Vegas," Orlando Police Chief John Mina said in a statement. "This community, and the men and women of OPD, know all too well the anguish that is gripping the residents, visitors and law enforcement community in Las Vegas. We grieve with the people of Las Vegas, and stand firmly with our brothers and sisters in law enforcement who are dealing with this tragedy. Our condolences and prayers go out to the families of all those affectd, and we grieve with LVMPD, who lost an off-duty officer who was attending the concert and was shot and killed."

"My heart is breaking for Las Vegas," Pulse survivor Bandon Wolf tweeted. "I know this feeling all too well. Our Pulse family is with you."

Overnight, police were searching for Marilou Danley, who was initially called a “person of interest” before police said Monday that they had contacted her and don't believe she was involved in the shooting on the strip.

Police described Danley as Paddock's roommate.

The I-TEAM found that Danley and Paddock intersect in Washoe County, Nevada and had a common address in Reno.

Paddock was there from 2012 to 2016.

Danley has lived in Reno since at least 2002.

The two do not have any other common addresses, so it's possible Reno is where they met.


About the Authors:

Jennifer, who anchors The Morning Shows and is part of the I-TEAM, loves working in her hometown of Jacksonville.