Can anything occur this day and age without people claiming that it’s part of a conspiracy? Almost immediately after the shooting in Las Vegas, before any investigation had a chance to even begin, people were claiming that the event was part of some conspiracy. As with most conspiracy theories, this conspiracy theory is based on spurious evidence. So far the dumbest “evidence” that “doesn’t add up” is news that the shooter used the freight elevator at Mandalay Bay:
Law enforcement sources told CBS News that Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock is believed to have used the freight elevator at the Mandalay Bay hotel casino in the days leading up to last week’s deadly attack.
It wasn’t clear what Paddock used the freight elevator for or how often he used it.
How could the shooter have accessed a restricted freight elevator without help from the inside? Obviously this is proof that he had help!
Anybody who claims that doesn’t realize just how poor building security generally is. I’ve used freight elevators on numerous occasions, including in casinos, without authorization. They’re usually “hidden” behind a nondescript door or one with a sign that says “Employees Only.” In almost every case the door is unlocked and the elevator lacks any form of access control. If the owners of the building are really concerned about security, there might be cameras that aren’t monitored by anybody facing the freight elevator doors although even that’s pretty rare.
Another way of gaining access to a freight elevator is to ask the person working at the front desk if you can use it to haul up a bunch of luggage. As it turns out, the person at the front desk who is tasked with making the customer happy will often let you use the freight elevator if it makes you happy. Humans are often wonderfully helpful creatures.
So I’m sorry to report that using a freight elevator isn’t evidence that “doesn’t add up.” It adds ups quite cleanly. Although I suspect that access control on freight elevators will become more common now that this information has been released.