MGM released a statement about the video footage of Paddock. As both a survivor of this horrible shooting and a lawyer representing over 50 victims, this statement is misleading to the public, irresponsible and insensitive to victims and the entire country. To begin with, let’s discuss what was NOT mentioned in the carefully crafted statement. The MGM failed to note that little if any NEW and improved safety measures have been implemented to safeguard customers and the general public. A couple of months ago, an investigative reporter took a freight elevator to the 32nd floor with a gun. Nothing has changed!
MGM has still not hired “armed” security guards. Having unarmed security is like having NO security at all. MGM still has not installed video surveillance cameras in the “hallways” of the Mandalay Bay. Didn’t hear any mention in the statement explaining why the windows didn’t have alarm systems tied to them? Had an alarm been triggered when Paddock starts drilling holes and had Mandalay Bay security been armed, this entire shooting should have been averted.
MGM intentionally misstated the law as well. We are not required to prove that MGM/Mandalay Bay should have foreseen that Paddock would have done this. Rather, what we have to prove is, given the totality of circumstances existing on Oct 1, whether it was “reasonably foreseeable” that mass violence like this could take place on the Vegas strip. We don’t have to prove that Mandalay Bay should have known this exact occurrence was likely to take place.
What is missing in this statement is that Mandalay Bay employees were grossly inadequately trained to be on the lookout for an act of mass violence. It was NOT even on their radar screen. MGM made no mention of whether it had implemented a MAT plan (Mass Action Terror) after the credible ISIS threat in May of last year.
Detecting mass violence is all about looking for “red flags.” Most mass terrorists don’t announce to the public their intention of carrying out mass violence before they do it. They don’t tell the bell person they are carrying 10 rifles up to their room! What MGM portrays as “normal” behavior is normal to them because their employees weren’t trained to look for red flags and they actually aided and abetted Paddock by letting him use the freight elevator. Properly trained maids would have noticed that it was not “normal” what was in Paddock’s room. Properly trained security would not treat as “normal” a barricaded stairwell door on the 32nd floor 20 minutes before the shooting starts. Properly trained security at Mandalay Bay would not treat as “normal” waiting to call law enforcement and then giving them the wrong floor of the shooting!
The video footage is not the whole story. MGM fails to mention all the measures mentioned above that could have prevented or mitigated the carnage had they been properly implemented. This lawsuit will be about a culture of greed catering to high rollers at the expense of public safety. What is “normal” to the Mandalay Bay and MGM is unacceptable and highly irresponsible and frightening in the eyes of many people including victims of this mass shooting.
– Brian Claypool