FBI called father of Las Vegas gunman a 'psychopath'

The father of the Las Vegas gunman who killed at least 58 people was referred to as a psychopath and was placed on a list of the 10 most wanted criminals by the FBI after he escaped from a federal prison in Texas on New Year's Eve 1968.

Known as "Chrome Dome" for his habit of shaving his head, Benjamin Hoskins Paddock was arrested in Springfield, Oregon, in September 1978.

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Paddock was serving a 20-year sentence for robbing a bank in Phoenix when he escaped from prison.

“Since he has utilized firearms in previous crimes, has employed violence in attempting to evade arrest and has been diagnosed as being psychopathic, (Benjamin) Paddock should be considered extremely dangerous,” Palmer M. Baken Jr., agent in charge of the Phoenix FBI office, said at the time, according to news reports.

Paddock remained on the list of the 10 most wanted criminals until 1977, a year before he was arrested. He was arrested the following year while he was reportedly working in Eugene, Oregon, as the manager of a bingo parlor and living under the name Bruce Werner Ericksen.

Paddock is believed to have died in 1998.

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