Hotel agrees to pay victims of Vegas shooting

Families of the victims of the deadliest mass shooting in the United States could collectively receive $800 million under a settlement agreement with MGM Grand Resorts, attorneys announced Thursday. MGM owns the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas where Stephen Paddock opened fire on a country music festival, killing 58 people and injuring hundreds on Oct. 1, 2017.

Why does the hotel have to pay? Lawyers for hundreds of victims and their families hold MGM responsible for letting Paddock, a 64-year-old frequent patron, store guns and ammunition in his room. He opened fire through the 32nd-floor window on concertgoers below at a venue also owned by MGM and then killed himself as police closed in.

Dig deeper: The FBI never discovered why Paddock did what he did. Read Kiley Crossland’s report in The Sift on the agency’s conclusions about the shooting.