Las Vegas Shooter Reportedly Targeted Lollapalooza
If the news about a man killing 58 people and wounding nearly 500 people in Las Vegas this weekend wasn't horrific enough, we've now learned that the Route 91 Harvest festival wasn't his only possible target. He had also apparently considered this year's Lollapalooza in Chicago as the site for his attack.
According to TMZ, the killer had booked two rooms at the Blackstone Hotel on Michigan Avenue, which is across the street from Grant Park, where the festival takes place. They report that, on July 23, he reserved a room to check in on Aug. 1, two days before Lollapalooza began. Four days later, he booked another room with a check-in date of Aug. 3. On both occasions, he specifically requested a room with a view overlooking the park, and set a check-out date of Aug. 6, the festival's final day. He did not check in to either room.
"We are aware of the media reports and have been in communication with our federal partners," chief police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi told the Chicago Tribune. It was also learned that the murderer had used AirBNB to rent rooms in Las Vegas at the exact same time as the Life Is Beautiful festival, which was held the weekend prior to Route 91 Harvest.
Had he chosen to conduct his terror at Lollapalooza, those fleeing the scene could have been placed in even further jeopardy. Running to either the west or east would have meant crossing two of Chicago's busiest roads, Michigan Avenue or Lake Shore Drive. More than 100,000 people attended Lollapalooza each day.
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