G'morning Maggie,
To try and add clarity to my perspective...first off, we don't know if the brother was really close enough to know...or...perhaps he knew way more than he wanted to even try and start the spin.
When you get into what you might expect him to say, you are applying a thought process (yours) to the situation...which may or may not be relevant in this situation...so we speculate while we wait for more info.
Here's an update...the brother said he had a few small guns but wasn't a gun nut (something to that effect)...they've found somewhere around 40? so far...like I said...either the brother was out of touch...or knows too much.
Food for thought
Cheers
As to your accomplice in the room theory...there was no one there when police entered and any movement in the hallway outside the suite, from the beginning fire on, is probably recorded...certainly reviewed by now...none have been mentioned yet and authorities are claiming he was alone...accepting that, it would appear that there was only one shooter, alone in that room...make sense?
Of course it does. If...
they aren't concealing evidence...
Not saying they are...I'm just a born skeptic.