Some things take a while...

A point I've made countless times, once you hear about a crime, wait and let the facts come out. Classic example, in the immediate aftermath of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando, the murderer was almost immediately called a closet homosexual. Slight problem. He was not gay. 

Besides being married to a woman (and having a child with her), none of his associates found any signs of him being in the closet, and none of his social media indicated that orientation. By all we can find his motive was in response to American air strikes in Iraq and Syria. He wanted to murder a lot of people and he did visit the clue before the shooting. I think we in the army call that reconnaissance of the target. 

Well, almost six years after the event, the FBI had identified a possible motive for the shooter of the Las Vegas hotel in 2017. He felt he was getting cheated by the casinos.

FBI documents give new view into mindset of Las Vegas mass shooter

Steven Paddock lost over $1.5M, became obsessed with firearms and distanced himself from family in the months leading up to the massacre

By Rio Yamat and Ken Ritter Associated Press

LAS VEGAS — The high-stakes gambler who carried out the deadliest mass shooting in modern America, killing 60 and injuring hundreds more in Las Vegas, was apparently angry over how the casinos were treating him despite his high-roller status, according to a fellow gambler.

An FBI interview with the gunman's fellow gambler is detailed in hundreds of pages of documents made public this week. The gambler, whose name is redacted in the documents, said he believed the stress could have easily caused gunman Stephen Paddock “to snap.” Paddock, 64, was a video poker player who relied on gambling as his main source of income.

The revelation comes years after the FBI in Las Vegas and the local police department concluded their investigations without a definitive motive, although both agencies said Paddock burned through more than $1.5 million, became obsessed with guns, and distanced himself from his girlfriend and family in the months leading up to the massacre.

In a statement Thursday, Las Vegas police defended their inconclusive findings and dismissed the importance of the documents released this week in response to an open-records request from the Wall Street Journal.

“We were unable to determine a motive for the shooter,” the statement said. “Speculating on a motive causes more harm to the hundreds of people who were victims that night...”

So after almost six years of work by local, state, and federal law enforcement, we have a, I'll say it, likely motive. Confirmed, no, this is not Elliot Rodger who stated his motive was revenge on women who had rejected his romantic advances. No, we have some long investigative work. And again, we still are not sure. But it's also not the lie of "Hands Up! Don't Shoot!" from the Michael Brown killing. 

The motive of the story. Don't believe everyone you hear before the crime scene is cleaned up.