21-year-old college student Paige Gasper is one of hundreds of concert goers shot in Stephen Paddock’s October 1st rampage, which took place at the Harvest Festival concert of Jason Aldean in Las Vegas. The attack led to 59 deaths and hundreds of injuries. Gasper has now filed the first civil lawsuit stemming from the attack.
Paddock’s shot struck Paige in the right underarm, shattering her ribs and lacerating her liver. Friends tried to assist her, but she was trampled while attempting to escape. Eventually, people she identifies as Good Samaritans helped her to cover, and then drove her and other wounded spectators to the hospital.
She claims that, prior to the attack, Paddock installed cameras in the peephole of his suite and in the hall outside it, including one in a food service cart. These were placed to monitor and attempt to stop law enforcement officers from entering the room he had rented.
Ms. Gasper’s Complaint alleges that Paddock brought to his room in excess of a dozen rifles, twelve “bump stock” devices and hundreds of rounds of ammo. Bump stocks are devices installed on non-automatic rifles. They use the recoil of the gun to achieve a rapid fire effect, so that the shooter can fire off shots as rapidly as an automatic weapon.
Gasper’s suit claims that multiple defendants are responsible for her injuries. She first claims that MGM Resorts and Mandalay Corp. owned and were in control of the hotel and concert ground. She claims that they were negligent in failing to properly surveil people coming to and from the hotel, failing to monitor the premises with closed circuit TV and failing to respond to Paddock’s shooting of Mandalay Bay Security guard Joe Campos, who was shot 6 minutes before the rampage began. She also claims they are at fault for failing to notice and stop Paddock’s delivery of guns/ammo to his hotel room and failing to train/supervise employees on reporting/discovering suspicious activity in the hotel.
She next claims that that concert organizer Live Nation Entertainment was negligent in failing to provide adequate exits in case of emergency and failing to train/supervise employees in an appropriate plan in case of an emergency.
She has sued Stephen Paddock’s estate, claiming that Paddock committed battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress against her.
She has sued at least one bump stock manufacturer, alleging that Slide Fire Solutions, LP was negligent and grossly negligent in the design, manufacture, marketing and sale of the devices. She also claims the products were unreasonably dangerous and defectively designed, manufactured and marketed.
She has also included as potential defendants other unnamed manufacturers/retailers of bump stocks, security offices, event planners and event managers.
There are many more suits to follow, and multiple attorneys (including several from the Houston area) are in Nevada gathering evidence and inspecting the hotel and concert ground.
Expect the MGM and bump stock sellers to aggressively defend the case and argue that the person solely responsible for the attack was Mr. Paddock.
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