Las Vegas Shooter’s Family Has a History of Violent Criminal Activity

tephen’s brother, Eric Paddock, reports that they did not grow up knowing their father. He was arrested after robbing a San Francisco bank, and then somehow he managed to break out of federal prison. This resulted in him being on the run and he landed a place on the FBI’s Most Wanted list throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s.

Eric told reporters on Oct. 2, 2017, ”I didn’t know him, we didn’t know him — he was in jail and broken out of jail.”

Benjamin got away with $25,000 after robbing two branches of the Valley National Bank in Phoenix, Arizona in 1959 and 1960,Arizona Republic reported. Authorities did not catch up with Benjamin Paddock until 1961 in Las Vegas, and he was then sentenced to 20 years in a federal prison in Texas.

In 1968, Benjamin broke out of prison, and instead of laying low and potentially learning from his mistakes, he robbed yet another bank in 1971, this time in San Francisco. On wanted posters, Benjamin was described as being “diagnosed as psychopathic.” In addition, the posters read, “He reportedly has suicidal tendencies and should be considered armed and very dangerous [and is an] avid bridge player.”

Benjamin was finally caught by law enforcement in 1978. He was living under a false alias, Bruce Werner, in Eugene, Oregon, and was posing as a bingo hall manager. Even with his extensive criminal history, Benjamin was released from federal prison on parole after only one year.

Benjamin Paddock is no longer alive, but the similarities between him and his son Stephen are quite eerie.