Stephen Paddock, the man identified as the Las Vegas mass murderer, was prescribed an anti-anxiety drug that can lead to aggressive behavior, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
According to the newspaper, records reveal Paddock was prescribed fifty 10-miligram diazepam tablets by Dr. Steve Winkler on June 21. He was to take one pill a day.
The drug — its brand name is Valium — was purchased by Paddock on the same day it was prescribed, the newspaper reported.
"If somebody has an underlying aggression problem and you sedate them with that drug, they can become aggressive," said Dr. Mel Pohl, chief medical officer of the Las Vegas Recovery Center. "It can disinhibit an underlying emotional state. … It is much like what happens when you give alcohol to some people … they become aggressive instead of going to sleep."
He said alcohol use could further increase the effects of the drug.
And Dr. Michael First, a clinical psychiatry professor at Columbia University, told the Review-Journal that finding out why Paddock was prescribed the drug is vital.
"That may have more to do with why he did what he did," First said.
Paddock is believed to be responsible for the deaths of at least 59 people, who were attending a music festival on the famed Las Vegas strip.
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