The girlfriend of Stephen Paddock, the Las Vegas shooter who killed at least 59 people and injured more than 500 others in the deadliest shooting in U.S. history, said here Wednesday she was not aware that Paddock was planning violence against anyone.
"It never occurred to me in any way whatsoever that he was planning violence against anyone," said Marilou Danley in a statement read by her attorney outside the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Los Angeles office.
"He never said anything to me or took any action that I was aware of and that I understood in any way to be a warning that something horrible like this was going to happen," said Danley.
"I knew Stephen as a kind, caring, quiet man," the statement said. "I loved him and hoped for a quiet future together."
Danley said that she was devastated by the deaths and injuries in the awful event. "I am a mother and a grandmother, my heart breaks for all who have lost loved ones."
According to the statement, before the mass attack, Paddock bought Danley a ticket to visit her family in the Philippines and also wired her money to help her purchase a home.
"I was grateful, but honestly, I was worried, that first, the unexpected trip home, and then the money, was a way of breaking up with me," she said.
"I will cooperate fully with investigation," she said, promising to tell anything she knew about Paddock to the FBI and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
Danley, 62, returned to the United States Tuesday night from the Philippines, her home country, and was met by FBI agents at Los Angeles International Airport.
Danley lived with Paddock in Mesquite, Nevada, a town of about 18,000 people located 120 km northeast of Las Vegas.
U.S. law enforcement officials hope that Danley can provide an insight into what led Paddock to carry out the massacre.
Paddock, a 64-year-old gambler and real estate investor, rained bullets from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip into an outdoor music festival with more than 22,000 concert-goers.
Law enforcement officials believe that Paddock acted alone in the mass shooting and have said that Danley is a person of interest.
