It is
without a doubt, our news cycle – in the age of 24/7
constant-connectedness – moves at a breakneck pace. With so
much information and news reaching us, it’s easy to become overburdened and
burned out on the world around us and the things taking place. It is true, too,
that the mainstream media dictates what stays center in the mind
of the public and what is allowed to fade away and be forgotten. It is of the utmost importance
we remain aware – however exhaustive it may be – of stories that just don’t add
up.
Enter the Las Vegas shooting;
the worst mass-shooting in U.S. history...
On
October 1, 64-year-old Stephen Paddock opened fire on a country music festival
from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel, which overlooked the festival
venue. Paddock’s onslaught left 58 dead and 546 injured.
A full
month later, and we are still without any answers. Even more worryingly, the Vegas shooting has
disappeared from any cable news channel. Even online, discussion over the
shooting has all but vanished, save from the more
conspiratorial corners of the web.
Here are the facts:
The official timeline of the
Vegas shooting has changed three times. A
week before the attack, Paddock wired $100,000to an
account in the Philippines. Paddock also took cruises to ports in the Middle
East. Paddock’s laptop was also missing its hard drive when
recovered in his hotel room.
Despite
a month of being told otherwise, it’s now been revealed that police
did discharge fire in Paddock’s hotel room upon entry… but why, if Paddock had already
killed himself before police breached the room?
Jesus
Campos is the security guard who first reportedly found Paddock as he started
his killing spree, and was shot in the leg in the process. However, he
not only disappeared after scheduling several television interviews, but it’s
now been revealed Campos reportedly left the country just
days after the Vegas shooting.
Why did authorities let Campos
leave the country in the middle of an investigation? How did Campos travel
unhindered with a gunshot wound in his leg?
Not
only that, but Campos was said to have been last
heard from when he went to a walk-in health clinic… but a
spokesperson for UMC Quick Care – the facility Campos supposedly went to
– said they had “heard nothing” about Campos visiting them.
On top
of all of that, Campos only re-emerged to do a fluff, softball interview on
Ellen. DeGeneres guides Campos along the interview, essentially framing
and explaining the timeline of events so Campos didn’t have to. At
times, the interview even seems scripted. Don’t take my word for that, I
implore you to watch and see if you agree:
Plainly,
things aren’t adding up with the Vegas shooting. Paddock was in an area with
extremely heavy surveillance, yet no stills or video of him have been released
to the public. No potential motive has been released. Really, no answers to
any of the questions that arose in result of the story not adding up have been
addressed… instead, the Vegas massacre has vanished from cable news channels
and the public mind.
Another
note to add, in just the span of a month, 4 survivors of the Vegas shooting
have died. Notably, both Kymberley
Suchomel and Danny
Contreras both publicly claimed there were multiple gunmen the night of the
mass shooting.Dennis and Lorraine Carver died after their Mercedes smashed into a metal
gate and exploded into flames. Per CNN:
The couple’s
youngest daughter, 16-year-old Madison Carver, told the Las Vegas
Review-Journal that she heard the crash from her bedroom. When she ran
outside and down the street to find out what had happened, she recognized her
family’s vehicle in flames.
By the
time their daughter heard the crash (which only happened about a half mile from
the Carver’s home) and ran down the road to see what had happened, the car was
engulfed in flames… Much like everything else pertaining to the Vegas shooting, the
story just doesn’t make sense.
Here we
are, a month later – with exactly what we had immediately in the aftermath of
the shooting: nothing. No answers, no coverage, no questions… nothing.
All of us should be asking many
questions – if only to ourselves – about why the narrative behind Vegas isn’t
adding up…
Compare
the massacre in Vegas to the terrorist
attack that happened yesterday in New York. Within hours, we knew the name
of the terrorist, had a picture of him, had his history as a refugee in the
U.S. under a “diversity visa”, and had a note declaring allegiance to ISIS. We have timelines and what
the terrorist was doing in the hours,
days before the attack…
…yet in the case of Stephen
Paddock, nothing.
The victims of the Las Vegas
shooting – R.I.P.
We owe
it to the victims to not let this simply fade away. We owe it to their memory
to ask why the narrative behind the shooting stinks. We owe it to their legacy to
question and demand answers from our public representatives when discussion and
coverage is being obviously stone-walled. Nary a peep has
come from any legacy media concerning Vegas in the past month, and that alone
should make you question what’s really going on. You don’t have to delve into
conspiracy theories or hack-witted ideas of a hoax. Merely ask yourself…
Where did the investigative
coverage on the Vegas shooting go? Why did the story drop out of the news cycle
with so many unanswered questions?
The worst mass-shooting in
America yet and seemingly everyone has shrugged their shoulders, thrown up
their hands, and declared indifference until the next one.
