--- description: The perpetrator of what is now the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history has a familiar connection to criminality. title: Las Vegas Shooter Stephen Paddock's Father Was Wanted by the FBI image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9a5754623bef5901/6988e01c096a9410ce69fcff/las-vegas-shooting.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Crime](/tag/crime/) ## Crime Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Las Vegas Shooter Stephen Paddock's Father Was Wanted by the FBI by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 2, 2017 7:10 PM CUT  People run from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival in Las Vegas after a gunman opened fire, leaving at least 50 people dead and more than 100 injured. People run from the Route 91 Harvest country music festival in Las Vegas after a gunman opened fire, leaving at least 50 people dead and more than 100 injured.David Becker—Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 2, 2017 7:10 PM CUT The perpetrator of what is now [the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history](http://time.com/4964807/las-vegas-shooting-deadliest-shootings/ "undefined") has a familiar connection to criminality. Eric Paddock — whose brother [Stephen Paddock](http://time.com/4964803/las-vegas-shooting-suspect-stephen-paddock/ "undefined") police say killed at least 58 people and wounded hundreds more in [the shooting at the Route 91 Harvest Festival at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas](http://time.com/4964666/madalay-bay-las-vegas-shooting/ "undefined") — told reporters on Monday that their father had appeared on the FBI’s Most Wanted Fugitives list in the late 1960s. [An archived newspaper clip from the Arizona _Republic_](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/14138560/arizona%5Frepublic/ "undefined") detailed the crimes of Patrick Benjamin Paddock, who also went by Benjamin Hoskins Paddock. The elder Paddock was arrested in Las Vegas in 1960\. _The Republic_ identified him as a “three-time bank robber,” saying he stole over $25,000 from Phoenix-area banks between 1959 and 1960. The [New York _Daily News_](http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/stephen-paddock-father-bank-robber-wanted-fbi-article-1.3536478 "undefined") reports that Paddock later escaped from the Federal Corrections Institution at La Tuna in Texas. [A 1969 FBI wanted poster](http://i.ebayimg.com/images/i/391704884970-0-1/s-l1000.jpg "undefined") shows a balding, sunken-eyed Paddock with the following warning: “Paddock, a diagnosed psychopathic, has carried firearms in commission of bank robberies. He reportedly has suicidal tendencies and is considered armed and very dangerous.” He’d already been convicted of bank robbery and automobile larceny. He went by nicknames including “Chromedome,” “Big Daddy,” and “Old Baldy.” In 1977, Paddock was removed from the Most Wanted list, according to the FBI. According to [The _Oregonian_](http://www.oregonlive.com/today/index.ssf/2017/10/las%5Fvegas%5Fshooting%5Fsuspects%5Fda.html "undefined"), Paddock moved to Oregon after he escaped from prison. There, he ran a bingo parlor using the alias Bruce Werner Ericksen. In 1978, he was arrested and later went back to prison. He died in 1998. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4965759/stephen-paddock-las-vegas-shooting-father/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4965759/stephen-paddock-las-vegas-shooting-father/"},"headline":"Las Vegas Shooter Stephen Paddock's Father Was Wanted by the FBI","datePublished":"2017-10-02T19:10:55.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T17:41:38.849Z","description":"Patrick Benjamin Paddock appeared on the FBI's Most Wanted Fugitives list in the late 1960s","url":"https://time.com/4965759/stephen-paddock-las-vegas-shooting-father/","keywords":["Crime","onetime","las vegas shooting"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9a5754623bef5901/6988e01c096a9410ce69fcff/las-vegas-shooting.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Maya Rhodan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9a5754623bef5901/6988e01c096a9410ce69fcff/las-vegas-shooting.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Reported Shooting At Mandalay Bay In Las Vegas","caption":"Reported Shooting At Mandalay Bay In Las Vegas","creditText":"David Becker—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/crime/","name":"Crime"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4965759/stephen-paddock-las-vegas-shooting-father/","name":"Las Vegas Shooter Stephen Paddock's Father Was Wanted by the FBI"}}]}] ```