Did they find his gun supplier? How long ago did he start buying the weapons? Maybe a lot of the purchases occurred the day that she left the States.
The investigation into Mr. Paddock’s gun arsenal led investigators to New Frontier Armory, a large North Las Vegas dealer, distributor and manufacturer of firearms.
David M. Famiglietti, the company’s president, issued a statement on Tuesday confirming that Mr. Paddock purchased “several” rifles and shotguns from the business last spring — all at the same time. It’s not uncommon for customers to do this to save money on background check fees, Mr. Famiglietti said.
“The firearms he purchased did not leave our store capable of what we’ve seen and heard in the video without modification,” he said. “They were not fully automatic firearms, nor were they modified in any way — legally or illegally — when they were purchased from us.”
Mr. Famiglietti said that nothing about Mr. Paddock raised red flags with the store’s sales clerk. On the contrary, according to Mr. Famiglietti, Mr. Paddock seemed to be interested in competitive shooting, asking the clerk a lot of questions about three-gun shooting matches — an increasingly popular sport in which players use a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol.
“He just seemed like a normal guy,” said Mr. Famiglietti, whose store has been the target of hate mail, threatening phone calls and fake reviews since the shooting. “We obviously did not sell him these firearms with the intent that he would use them to hurt anyone in any way.”
On Monday, a Mesquite, Nev., gun dealer, Guns & Guitars, acknowledged having sold two rifles and a handgun to Mr. Paddock. Like the purchases at Frontier, those were cleared by state and federal background checks.
The gunman was ‘not an avid gun guy at all,’ said one of his brothers.