Family of Las Vegas mass shooting victim sues to freeze gunman's assets

The family of a 56-year-old man who was killed in the Las Vegas mass shooting filed a lawsuit Friday asking for a freeze of the shooter’s assets.

John Phippen, a home remodeler who lived in Southern California with six children and one grandchild, was killed at the Route 91 Harvest Country Music Festival when 64-year-old Stephen Paddock rained down about 1,600 rounds of ammo from the 32th floor suite of Mandalay Bay hotel into the crowd on Sunday night.

A total of 58 people were killed and nearly 500 others injured in the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history.

Richard Patterson, the attorney for Phippen’s family, filed the suit in Clark County of Nevada where Las Vegas is located.

The indictment seeks to prevent Paddock’s girlfriend, Marilou Danley, and his brother, Eric, from becoming Paddock’s rightful heirs.

“This is an action for the benefit of all the victims to preserve these assets,” Patterson told NBC news channel.

According to reports after the shooting rampage, Paddock is a successful gambler and real estate investor, who earned 5 million U.S. dollars in 2015.

Phippen took part in the concert Sunday night with his 24-year-old son Travis.

Travis said in NBC’s “Today Show” Thursday that his father placed his body over a girl to shield her when the shooting started and was shot to death at the scene.

After Phippen’s death, his neighbor set up an online fundraising account in order to help his children who lost their mother three years ago.

The account has received more than 60,000 dollars, far more than the initial goal of 25,000 dollars.

Patterson said that besides this suit, he planed to file suits against Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino and its parent company, MGM Resorts International.

He also said another victim could join the lawsuit.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)