The man responsible for the mass shooting in Las Vegas was able to book two rooms with a view at Chicago’s Blackstone Hotel downtown during Lollapalooza after berating the hotel’s manager, TMZ reported Friday.
Using the travel reservation site Expedia, Stephen Paddock requested that his rooms face Grant Park, where 100,000 people gather every day for the four-day music festival.
Though rooms with a view of the park can’t be guaranteed, Paddock berated the hotel manager and was able to secure rooms that overlooked the park. TMZ reported that Paddock told the manager that he and his wife met at Lollapalooza and the trip was for their anniversary.
Citing sources, TMZ said Paddock was “forceful.”
Thursday, TMZ broke the story — which was later confirmed by the Chicago Sun-Times — that Paddock booked the rooms for early August, coinciding with Lollapalooza.
However, Paddock never showed up for his reservation at the hotel, which sits just across Michigan Avenue from Grant Park.
“We can confirm there was no guest under that name who stayed at our hotel in August during the Lollapalooza Music Festival,” a Blackstone Hotel spokeswoman said. “We are cooperating with authorities on the matter.”
Chicago Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the department was “in communication with our federal partners” about Thursday’s revelation.
“As you saw earlier this week the city conducts extensive public safety planning and training around major events, in close coordination with our law enforcement partners, to ensure public safety,” Guglielmi said.
With investigators probing Paddock’s whereabouts in the months before the Las Vegas massacre, authorities revealed on Thursday that, in addition to Chicago, Paddock had scouted hotels around Fenway Park in Boston.
Paddock also rented a room at the Ogden Las Vegas hotel during the “Life is Beautiful” music festival from Sept. 22-24, the weekend before the mass shooting. Chicago hip-hop superstar Chance the Rapper was among the headliners of that festival, along with Muse, Lorde and Blink-182.
On Sunday, Paddock opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino, killing 58 people and injuring nearly 530 at a country music festival before killing himself.
