Charges possible in Las Vegas mass shooting, attorneys say

While charges are being investigated, no one may be indicted for the murders.

ByABC News
January 16, 2018, 4:49 PM

— -- Criminal charges may be filed in connection with the Las Vegas mass shooting that killed 58 people and injured hundreds more, attorneys for the Las Vegas Metro Police Department said in court on Tuesday.

The hearing, which took place in a Clark County District Court, was held to determine whether the media should be given access to more search warrant documents involving the shooting.

Police department attorney Nicholas Crosby told Clark County District Judge Elissa Cadish that while no one may be indicted for the actual murders, "There are charges being investigated."

The police department has been arguing against the release of the documents due to the ongoing investigation, but lawyers for the media said that because shooter Stephen Paddock is dead, there is no prosecution pending against him, so the documents are no longer sensitive.

PHOTO: Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock is seen here in a government ID photo.
Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock is seen here in a government ID photo.

While Crosby told Cadish that the LVMPD can't say in open court why it can't release the documents, attorneys for the media argued that any delay in their release is a violation of the First Amendment.

The search warrant documents in question are separate from federal documents that were released last week.

PHOTO: Antoinette Cannon, who worked as a trauma nurse and treated victims last Sunday night, leaves a rose at each of the 58 white crosses at a makeshift memorial on the south end of the Las Vegas Strip, Oct. 6, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Antoinette Cannon leaves a rose at each of the 58 white crosses at a makeshift memorial on the south end of the Las Vegas Strip, Oct. 6, 2017 in Las Vegas.

Cadish said she wanted to read through the documents to compare them to information already available to the public before making a decision.

Paddock, 64, opened fire on thousands of concertgoers from the 32nd floor of his suite at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino on Oct. 1.

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