Las Vegas shooting raises security questions after gunman Stephen Paddock got 23 guns into hotel room
QUESTIONS have been raised over how the Las Vegas gunman managed to get 23 guns into his hotel after the worst mass shooting in US history.
At least 59 people were killed and 527 wounded when Stephen Paddock opened fire on a concert from his hotel room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino.
When cops stormed the room they found the killer already dead – next to an arsenal of no less than 16 weapons.
Among them were two rifles with scopes on tripods positioned in front of the two windows that had been broken out, police revealed.
Police also found 19 guns at the shooter's home in Mesquite, Nevada.
Questions have now been asked about the security arrangements that allowed Paddock to sneak such a huge arsenal into the building.
And one US mass shooting expert has said hotels are a soft touch for such attacks.
Professor Adam Winkler of UCLA is a gun law expert and has been cited in landmark Supreme Court cases on the right to bear arms.
He said the lack of security at hotels means weapons could easily be taken into the building.
Prof Winkler said: "Most hotels in the United States do not have metal detectors.
"Anyone can walk into a hotel with firearms without being detected.
"Firearms in a suitcase would also easily get past any hotel security.
"We could have metal detectors at the hotel entrances, but that is impractical."
He added: "In a country with 320million guns, gun violence can't be avoided in the US.
"This shooting will not likely impact US gun laws. The National Rifle Association and its allies control Congress and the White House.
"The GOP (Republican Party) controls Congress and the White House and is opposed to any new gun restrictions.
"President Obama discovered how strong the gun rights forces are in 2013 when he tried to pass new gun safety laws."
After the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, Obama tried to tighten laws on gun ownership of high calibre weapons, but was blocked by Congress.
