Former Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman encouraged others to stay positive after last weekend's mass shooting, saying he was "smiling" because he knew gunman Stephen Paddock was "rotting in hell," the Washington Examiner reported Saturday.
"I'm smiling about this guy right now because I know he's rotting in hell," Goodman said during an interview on CNN Saturday morning, adding that Paddock was also "in eternal damnation." He suggested everyone continue to live as they did before the shooting.
"We are mourning, we are heartsick, but unfortunately we can't bring these souls back," Goodman said.
Paddock, the reclusive 64-year-old shooter, was a high-stakes gambler who killed 58 and injured nearly 500 others in the barrage of gunfire he aimed at a crowd at a country music festival from his suite on the 32nd floor of Mandalay Bay hotel last Sunday before taking his own life.
Officials are still unsure of Paddock's motive and investigators said they have run down more than 1,000 leads in their search for clues.
Goodman was mayor of Las Vegas from 1999 to 2011. His wife, Carolyn, has served as mayor since he left office.
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