Las Vegas shooting: I wasn’t aware Paddock's GF
Marilou Danley arrived back in the US on
Tuesday, two days after her partner Stephen Paddock carried out the attack.
It was the worst shooting in modern US
history, with more than 500 injured.
US President Donald Trump, who visited the
city on Wednesday, said "America is truly a nation in mourning" in
the wake of the mass killings.
In a statement read by her lawyer, Ms Danley
said Paddock "never said anything to me or took any action" which she
understood as a warning of what was to come.
"I loved him and hoped for a quiet
future together with him," she said, expressing shock at the
"horrible unspeakable acts of violence" Paddock had committed.
US authorities named Ms Danley a "person
of interest" in their investigation and said they had made contact with
her shortly after the shooting.
Ms Danley voluntarily flew back to Los
Angeles from the the Philippines on Tuesday night to speak to the FBI, just
over two weeks after Paddock had surprised her with a "cheap ticket"
to enable her to visit her family.
While there, he wired her $100,000 (£75,400),
explaining it was to buy a house.
"I was grateful, but honestly I was
worried it was a way for him to break up with me," she said. "It
never occurred to me in any way whatsoever that he was planning violence
against anyone."
Her sisters earlier told Australian outlet 7News that Ms Danley "was sent away... so that
she will not be there to interfere with what he's planning".
Paddock checked into a suite on the 32nd
floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel on 28 September, reportedly using some of Ms
Danley's identity documents.
At about 22:08 on 1 October, he unleashed the
first round of gunfire into the unsuspecting crowd at a country music festival.
Over the course of the next nine to 11
minutes, he killed 58 people and injured more than 500 others, before it is
understood he turned the gun on himself.
On Wednesday, President Trump praised the
emergency services who battled to save as many as they could, despite the
danger to themselves.
"When the worst of humanity strikes - and strike it did - the best
of humanity responds," he said as he applauded injured officers.
"In the depths of horror, we will always
find hope in the men and women who risk their lives for ours," he added.
Mr Trump said he was in the "company of
heroes" after visiting the first responders.
"Words cannot describe the bravery that
the whole world witnessed on Sunday night," he said. "Americans
defied death and hatred with love and with courage."
Original Article Source : BBC NEWS
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