Weeks since the worst mass shooting in American history, and we’re still no closer to understand Stephen Paddock’s motivations for his unthinkable crime. Paddock’s life is still under investigation to be sure, but new details that might shed light on what drove him to kill have been few and far between.
At this point, it’s anybody’s guess what’s taking so long for authorities to piece together a solid picture. However, the latest details about the shooting may reveal at least part of the reason why we haven’t learned much in recent weeks.
As reported at ABC News, a laptop computer recovered from Paddock’s Las Vegas hotel was strangely missing its hard drive according to investigators. The absence of the hard drive is a huge hit to the investigation, as it might have contained a treasure trove of insightful information about Paddock all the way up until he began shooting.
The strangest part of the report is that they’re claiming Paddock intentionally removed the drive before he killed himself. Which begs the question: What on earth happened to it? If they think the drive was in the computer up until that point, then one would think it’d still be in the room, or maybe even thrown out the window and around the hotel somewhere. Regardless, it has yet to be found.
What has been learned about Paddock is that he took serious precautions to ensure that online and computer based evidence was erased, as he apparently purchased software designed to wipe his hard drive. But that’s moot at this point, since the drive is nowhere to be found.
Thanks to the unusual lack of digital evidence in the case, investigators are having a hard time coming up with a clear motivation. While not having the hard drive is a big blow, surely the man had online accounts that authorities could access. If not, then we may never know what happened, as he didn’t leave a manifesto or have anybody he talked candidly to about anything that even hinted at what was coming. The absence of relationships and a digital footprint makes it very hard to understand the person under the microscope.
Unfortunately for those who want some closure, it may be a while until we even begin to understand this vicious killer’s psyche.
Source: ABC News