A brother of the Las Vegas shooter has been arrested on child pornography charges
Michelle Mark
Business Insider
Bruce Paddock, 58, was arrested on Wednesday by the Los Angeles Police Department on child pornography possession charges. He is the brother of Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock. Los Angeles Police Department.
- Bruce Paddock, a brother of the Las Vegas gunman, was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of possessing child pornography.
- The child pornography investigation into Bruce Paddock predates his brother’s shooting and is unconnected, according to authorities.
- The LAPD said Bruce Paddock had been evicted from the building he was squatting in, which is when “evidence was discovered” of child pornography.
An estranged brother of Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock was arrested Wednesday morning and charged with possessing more than 600 images of child pornography, the Los Angeles Police Department said.
Bruce Paddock, 59, was taken into custody at a nursing home facility in the Los Angeles neighborhood of North Hollywood, The Los Angeles Times reported.
Los Angeles prosecutors have filed 20 charges against Paddock, including 19 counts related to the sexual exploitation of a child, according to the LAPD. At least 10 of the images Paddock allegedly possessed featured a child younger than 12, according to a felony complaint for an arrest obtained by the Times.
Stephen Paddock, the man authorities say killed 58 people during a concert in Las Vegas. Associated Press
Police said they began investigating Paddock after “evidence was discovered” in a business he was squatting in after he was was evicted from the building.
Police added that Paddock “could not be located” for some time after the investigation began, as he was transient following his eviction.
Police said they released Paddock’s mugshot to the public “in case there may be victims of unreported incidents.” Paddock’s bail is set at $60,000.
The investigation into Bruce Paddock predates the Las Vegas shooting and the two incidents are not connected, LAPD spokesman Josh Rubenstein told the Times.
On October 1, Stephen Paddock opened fire on a crowd of concertgoers from his suite on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, killing 58 and injuring hundreds.
Bruce Paddock has only rarely granted media interviews following the shooting, unlike his other brother Eric Paddock, who has spoken to news outlets frequently. Neither are considered suspects in the Las Vegas shooting.
Eric told The Washington Post that Stephen had been largely estranged from Bruce, because Bruce used to beat Stephen up when they were children. Eric said Stephen had also been estranged from another older brother, Patrick.
Bruce told NBC News earlier this month that the FBI had interviewed him about his brother Stephen twice, and that he suspected Stephen had financial difficulties that may have motivated him to carry out the massacre.
An FBI spokeswoman in Las Vegas declined to comment to media outlets about the arrest.