Stanford to Slice Open Las Vegas Shooter’s Brain

"The possibilities, neuropathologically, for explaining this kind of behavior are very few."

November 2, 2017 11:04 am
Power Changes the Brain
Research suggests that arrogant leaders suffer from a change in their brain, known as the "power paradox." (Getty Images)

After Las Vegas authorities said an autopsy found no visual abnormalities in shooter Stephen Paddock’s brain, doctors at Stanford University will spend the next several months pouring over the tissue and performing forensic analyses to search for possible neurological issues not initially identified.

“I think everybody is pretty doubtful that we’re going to come up with something,”  Dr. Hannes Vogel, the director of neuropathology at Stanford University Medical Center, told the New York Times. “The possibilities, neuropathologically, for explaining this kind of behavior are very few.”

Despite the “tricky” nature of the work, they’re moving forward — and with details under wraps. Newsweek reports that, while the Clark County coroner’s office would not comment directly on the case, they released a statement this week to the outlet giving just a vague outline of what they doctors are looking for:

“Multiple forensic analyses will be performed on Paddock, including a neuropathological examination of brain tissue at the Stanford University Department of Pathology, which is one of the County Coroner’s contracted neuropathology laboratories,” the statement read.

The InsideHook Newsletter.

News, advice and insights for the most interesting person in the room.