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Rumors accomplish nothing

Already, the rumor mill is grinding out an assortment of allegations regarding the horrific massacre in Las Vegas on Sunday night. Among the most troubling — and, unfortunately, easy to accept — is that the mass murderer, Stephan Paddock, did not act alone.

Firing from a 32rd floor hotel suite, Paddock killed 59 people and wounded 527. The toll would have been much higher had police and hotel security personnel not acted with the speed and courage they displayed.

Less than 24 hours after the shooting spree, social media was disseminating the claim that Paddock was not the only shooter.

Given the number of victims, that might seem credible. How can just one man shoot that many people?

Paddock had fully automatic weapons. He was firing into a densely packed crowd of about 22,000. It is entirely believable that he alone could have taken the toll he did.

Law enforcement authorities say all their evidence points to Paddock being the only shooter. Unless that changes, spreading rumors accomplishes nothing useful. It merely distracts from the awful enough truth.

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