Las Vegas: US officials discount ISIS’s claim of responsibility, say shooter had psychological problems
More of the global outbreak of mental illness?
In any case, this would be easier to take seriously were it not for the fact that officials so often ascribe what are obviously jihad attacks to mental illness. This man planned his attack carefully over a long period of time. If he was mentally ill, he was high-functioning.
“US Officials: No evidence Las Vegas shooter tied to militant group,” Reuters, October 2, 2017:
WASHINGTON, Oct 2 (Reuters) – Two senior US officials said on Monday that there was no evidence that the shooter who killed at least 50 people in Las Vegas was tied to any international militant group.
Islamic State issued a statement through its news agency Amaq claiming responsibility for the shooting, saying that the attacker had converted to Islam a few months ago.
But one of the two US officials discounted Islamic State’s claim of responsibility and said there was reason to believe that the shooter, whom police identified as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, had a history of psychological problems.