>> Unless he was looking for specific people in the crowd, this would not have been necessary. <<
Perhaps he was calculating to a specific spot where an accomplice was supposed to have the car with the tannerite parked. Maybe near the fuel storage tanks.
That’s possible. It was mentioned Paddock was possibly planning an escape. maybe he had someone waiting for him in a vehicle park away from the scene and that person took off when they saw cops swarming in force and Paddock was nowhere to be seen.
Who knows.
Maybe he was planning a suicide the entire time. Its clear we’re given little bits and pieces then some little parts of the story changes or is misreported.
If his accomplice didn’t show, then why continue? Or at least call the valet and have his car brought around, park it over there himself and take a taxi back. He’d have been delayed a few minutes but it wasn’t like the music crowd was going anywhere. They’d have still been there.
There were a few rounds fired before he started with the long bursts.
You can hear the rounds beginning at around 3:12 of this video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muiHkkbPpdU&feature=youtu.be&t=190
You can hear a few cracks first suggesting the first few rounds were coming in the direction of the person recording. The long bursts come later.