The Islamic State militant group (ISIS) has published a new infographic detailing how the jihadists orchestrated the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history on Sunday night, despite serious doubts as to the group’s involvement by authorities.
In the latest edition of ISIS’s weekly Al-Naba online magazine, which was shared by its supporters Thursday on encrypted messaging app Telegram, the militant network provided more information intended to bolster its prior claims that assailant Stephen Paddock converted to Islam prior to killing 58 people and injuring hundreds more, when he opened fire on concertgoers from his 32nd floor room in the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas with nearly two dozen weapons.
The new publication now specified that Paddock, who the group dubbed Abu Abdul Barr al-Amriki, had allegedly “converted to Islam six months ago” and provided a play-by-play of Sunday’s bloodshed.
“A soldier of the caliphate attacked a gathering of 22,000 Americans at a concert in the city of Las Vegas, resulting in nearly 60 killed and 600 injured, ” Al-Naba states, later erroneously stating the death toll at 59, instead of the revised count of 58.
“Brother Abu Abdul Bar stationed himself in a room on the 32nd floor of a hotel overlooking the concert and opened fire continuously on the crowds using 23 firearms and more than 2,000 bullets and died, may God accept him, after running out of ammunition,” it added.
In trying to piece together a motive for Paddock’s shooting spree, authorities have scrutinized ISIS’s claims, but have said they don’t believe the militants were involved. Paddock, a frequent gambler and drinker by most accounts, has not been revealed to host any radical connections or converted to Islam at any point.
While his father was revealed to have once been on the FBI’s Most Wanted List, Paddock’s brother said on Monday, he was “completely dumbfounded” by the attack.