Las Vegas Shooting at Mandalay Bay

The shooter was staying at the Mandalay Bay and committed the crime there. Can the Mandalay Bay be held responsible for the damages caused?

At first, there was very little evidence indicating that the Mandalay Bay would be held responsible for the damages caused by the shooter. Unless evidence is uncovered that indicates the Mandalay Bay knew or should of known of the shooter’s plan and intent, or that the Mandalay Bay failed to take necessary action once the shooter was known, it may be difficult to hold the Mandalay Bay responsible. It is not unusual for people to bring in large bags of luggage or to stay for extended periods of time. Right now there is no indication that anyone at the Mandalay Bay knew the shooter had a small arsenal of rifles and guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition. At this there are no indications that the shooter’s behavior before the mass killing should have tipped the Mandalay Bay off to his plans. The mere fact that the shooting took place from the Mandalay Bay is not sufficient, in and of itself, to impose responsibility upon the Mandalay Bay. If additional evidence is discovered that shows the Mandalay Bay had information or knowledge of Paddock’s intent or plan, the Mandalay Bay very well could have responsibility for failing to act on that information.

However, as more evidence becomes known, there appear to be critical things that the Mandalay Bay failed to do that could make it partially responsible for the deaths, injuries and damages. One theory whereby the Mandalay Bay could be held responsible is based upon reports that the Las Vegas shooter had a “Do Not Disturb” sign on his door for up to 36 hours. No one from the Mandalay Bay housekeeping, security or other departments had been in the shooter’s suite for approximately 3 days before the mass shooting. Steve Wynn publically stated that at his Hotel/Casino a room with a “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door for more than 12 hours would trigger an investigation by his staff. The question becomes what is the industry standard? How long can a “Do Not Disturb” sign be on a door before industry standards require an investigation by the hotel staff or security? If the Mandalay Bay failed to meet industry standards in this regard, there is a potential basis for the imposition of liability against the Mandalay Bay.

Additionally, the reports from the Sheriff now indicate the Las Vegas shooter bolted shut the Mandalay Bay’s stairwell door to his floor with a steel bar of some sort. One would expect that the stairwell doors to each floor to be an area where there is video camera coverage. If Mandalay Bay security failed to observe the Las Vegas shooter screwing in a metal bar to barricade his floor off from stairwell entry well before the mass shooting took place, the Mandalay Bay could be held to have failed to take proper security steps to protect its guests and those killed and injured by the Las Vegas shooter.

The reports about the Mandalay Bay security guard who was shot are now conflicting. At first it was reported that the security guard went to the Las Vegas shooter’s room after the shooting had been ongoing for some time. In fact, it was reported that he got to the room just before the police and SWAT team arrived. Now, however, there are reports that the security guard arrived at the shooter’s room before he started shooting at the innocent concert goers. If the new reports indicating that the security guard was shot before the gunman started shooting on the crowd and the Mandalay Bay failed to take immediate responsive action to stop the shooter, the Mandalay Bay could very well have negligently failed in its obligations to the public and its guests. This is particularly true because the reports indicate that the door to the shooter’s room was riddled with bullet holes when the police arrived. If the Las Vegas shooter riddled the door with bullet holes when he shot the security guard before he began shooting at the crowd, the Mandalay Bay had specific knowledge of not only the room where the shooter was, but it also specifically knew that the shooter was armed and shooting its own security guard. The Mandalay Bay should have immediately sent up an armed contingent of security personnel to put a stop to the shooter, even if it was before the police arrived. As a result, as additional facts, reports and news come out, we may learn that there were many failures on the part of the Mandalay Bay that caused or contributed to the shooter’s ability to fire thousands of rounds of gun fire at the concert crowd before he was eventually stopped.

As a result, it is not out of the question that the Mandalay Bay may bear some responsibility for the damages people have suffered.