I don't agree that it makes a difference whether or not the guy shot anyone. The reality was he was able to get a rifle into an area that should have been protected. That he was able to start fires and was able to evade the police long enough to go to a room and set fire to himself etc. There apparently was nothing that would have stopped him from shooting the patrons of the casino if he was so inclined, so the idea that the deaths are from smoke doesn't make this much better IMO. People are dead because of this man's actions and if the response had been adequate they would have prevented his entry into the location with a weapon and certainly have limited the amount of fire he set. Security failed no matter how you look at it. The lack of adequate sprinklers etc is just yet another way people were at risk. The reporting is many of the people died because they did not get out. Why did they not get out? Because this guy was running around firing a gun and they were scared of being shot. If he had been neutralized more quickly or at least if the location had been secured more quickly people could have been evacuated.