Las Vegas Security Guard, Jesus Campos, the first person to confront Las Vegas hotel shooter Stephen Paddock during his vicious rampage, made his first public appearance Wednesday on the set of the daytime show "Ellen."

Host Ellen DeGeneres, in an eight-minute video, met with Campos and building engineer Stephen Schuck, who was also shot by Paddock and spoke with them about what they saw. Campos described how he had been patrolling the 31st floor and was then told to check on an open door on the 32nd floor, which was where Paddock was located. On attempting to go up the stairs, he found that the door to the 32nd floor had been jammed with metal brackets.

He then took another route with the assistance of Schuck. His attempts to maneuver on the floor were apparently detected by Paddock, who opened fire and hit Campos and Schuck.

Campos said that he “felt a burning sensation” and saw blood when he lifted up his pants leg. He kept another guest on the floor from going into the hallway and used his cellphone to clear radio traffic before staying there until the shooting stopped.

Questions abound

Campos’ appearance and recounting of the events shed further information on a disaster which even now continues to confuse the American public. Despite a relentless investigation, authorities have not released details about whether Paddock had any motive, fueling groundless speculation and conspiracy theories.

Much of the confusion surrounded Campos himself. Campos was scheduled to appear in other media outlets such as Fox News, but abruptly canceled these interviews and went quiet for several days. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that signs posted outside his home read “no trespassing” and “no media on property.” Media outlets like the Los Angeles Times declared that he had “vanished” or was “missing.”

Motives unclear

It is reasonable to assume that Campos was simply struggling with his sudden fame and reputation as a hero.

During his time on the air, Campos did not look at the studio audience. He also indicated that he was uninterested in doing further interviews about the attack.

However, Campos will likely be needed to help piece together the complete story of the attack, especially as there appear to be conflicting reports of his role. The initial Las Vegas sheriff’s report indicated that Campos was shot six minutes before Paddock began firing into the crowd and that Campos had not helped guests out.

But later reports stated that Campos was shot right before the attack began and that the police responded 12 minutes after the shooting began.

Campos and the United States both have questions to confront as Las Vegas recovers from the tragedy. Campos will be undergoing both physical and mental therapy at SCR891 and will stay in his position as a security guard. Meanwhile, the United States must confront the troubling idea that a mass murderer would pull such a heinous crime with absolutely no motive and thus be unsure about what measures can prevent other, similar tragedies from occurring.