The shooter in last weekend's Las Vegas massacre attempted to purchase ammunition that could have improved his accuracy but would have likely tipped police of his position on the 32nd floor of a hotel, according to a new report.
CNN reported Friday that the 64-year-old who shot and killed 58 people and wounded nearly 500 others may have wanted to use tracer rounds during his nighttime assault on a country music concert. The shooter, Stephen Paddock, did not purchase any of the rounds at a gun show near Phoenix because the vendor he was speaking with did not have any for sale, according to CNN.
Tracer rounds light up once they're fired, which allows the shooter to easily identify where they are landing. If Paddock had used the rounds, his aim might have been better and it's possible he could have shot more people during his rampage that went on for about 10 minutes in several bursts.
"It allows you to keep your weapon on not necessarily a specific target, but a specific area," former U.S Marshals Service assistant director Art Roderick told CNN. "There would have been a lot higher casualty rate if he had tracer rounds."
Retired FBI agent James Gagliano told CNN that police would have been able to pinpoint the shooter's location quicker if he had been using the rounds. It took 10-12 minutes for authorities to find Paddock as he fired out of two smashed windows of his hotel suite based on noise complaints from guests staying at the hotel.
"The barrel of the rifle — we could not see muzzle flashes, from the angles I've seen on videos, which meant that he was ... pulled back inside," Gagliano said.
Investigators have not yet released a motive in Sunday night's shooting. Clark County Sheriff Joseph Lombardo told the media this week there was no suicide note left behind by Paddock, who shot himself as police closed in on him.
According to The New York Times, however, there was a note in the hotel room that contained a cryptic series of numbers.
Police have not said anything more about the note, other than that it's being analyzed.