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| Las Vegas gunman may have used special device to fire faster, expert says | Las Vegas gunman may have used special device to fire faster, expert says |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Law enforcement officials have yet to confirm what kind of firearms Stephen Paddock used to shoot from his Mandalay Bay hotel room into a crowd of people at a country music festival in Las Vegas, killing at least 59 people, though reports suggested he had at least 19 guns, including rifles, and explosives. | |
| The rapid pace of the gunfire suggested that the shooter was using either a fully automatic weapon, tightly restricted under US law, or that he had attached a device to a semi-automatic gun to make it fire more continuously, said Massad Ayoob, a firearms expert, instructor and author. “It’s faster than almost any human being is going to be able to pull a trigger on a semi-automatic,” Ayoob said. | |
| Fully automatic weapons, which fire multiple rounds of ammunition from a single pull of the trigger, are strictly regulated, taxed and tracked under US law. This makes them expensive collectors’ items, and comparatively rarely used in crimes. Semi-automatic rifles, in contrast, which fire only one round of ammunition with each pull of the trigger, are widely available. | Fully automatic weapons, which fire multiple rounds of ammunition from a single pull of the trigger, are strictly regulated, taxed and tracked under US law. This makes them expensive collectors’ items, and comparatively rarely used in crimes. Semi-automatic rifles, in contrast, which fire only one round of ammunition with each pull of the trigger, are widely available. |
| Unlike some states, Nevada, which has laws generally friendly to gun owners, does not ban the sale of “assault weapons” – semi-automatic civilian guns built to resemble military weapons. | Unlike some states, Nevada, which has laws generally friendly to gun owners, does not ban the sale of “assault weapons” – semi-automatic civilian guns built to resemble military weapons. |
| From listening to the footage of the attack, Ayoob said that the gunshots “did not sound as consistent” as he would typically expect from a fully automatic M-16 or AK-47. “The pace of fire is a little bit erratic. At one point it’s slower than it is at another point.” | From listening to the footage of the attack, Ayoob said that the gunshots “did not sound as consistent” as he would typically expect from a fully automatic M-16 or AK-47. “The pace of fire is a little bit erratic. At one point it’s slower than it is at another point.” |
| Paddock could have used a Hellfire or a bump-fire device, which attach to normal semi-automatic rifles and allow them to fire more rapidly, Ayoob said. These devices are legal, but rarely used by serious shooters, he said. | Paddock could have used a Hellfire or a bump-fire device, which attach to normal semi-automatic rifles and allow them to fire more rapidly, Ayoob said. These devices are legal, but rarely used by serious shooters, he said. |
| “It’s hard to shoot accurately with them, and serious shooters want accuracy,” he said. He called them “not terribly popular” and “something a gun geek would want”. | “It’s hard to shoot accurately with them, and serious shooters want accuracy,” he said. He called them “not terribly popular” and “something a gun geek would want”. |
| For the Las Vegas shooter, though, the accuracy of these devices would not have mattered, since he was “hosing a two-acre area with 30,000 targets,” nearly every shot he fired would have hit someone. | For the Las Vegas shooter, though, the accuracy of these devices would not have mattered, since he was “hosing a two-acre area with 30,000 targets,” nearly every shot he fired would have hit someone. |
| On its website, Bump Fire Systems advertises the device as permitting “simulated full-auto firing” that is “absolutely legal”. It sells Bump Fire stocks for $99.99. | On its website, Bump Fire Systems advertises the device as permitting “simulated full-auto firing” that is “absolutely legal”. It sells Bump Fire stocks for $99.99. |
| The Hellfire system uses a hand-operated crank to hit the trigger of the gun more rapidly than a person could fire it, Ayoob said, which could explain apparent changes in the pace of the fire. | The Hellfire system uses a hand-operated crank to hit the trigger of the gun more rapidly than a person could fire it, Ayoob said, which could explain apparent changes in the pace of the fire. |
| Ayoob said he knew of only one previous incident in which a legally owned fully automatic gun was used in a murder. When fully automatic guns do show up in crimes, they have often been stolen, he said. | Ayoob said he knew of only one previous incident in which a legally owned fully automatic gun was used in a murder. When fully automatic guns do show up in crimes, they have often been stolen, he said. |
| Semi-automatic weapons patterned to look like fully automatic M-16s have been a political flashpoint for decades, with Democrats arguing that these guns should be banned, and gun rights advocates arguing that semi-automatic weapons such as the AR-15 are no more dangerous than semi-automatic hunting rifles, which are not politically controversial. | Semi-automatic weapons patterned to look like fully automatic M-16s have been a political flashpoint for decades, with Democrats arguing that these guns should be banned, and gun rights advocates arguing that semi-automatic weapons such as the AR-15 are no more dangerous than semi-automatic hunting rifles, which are not politically controversial. |
| The wide availability of large-capacity ammunition magazines, which allow shooters to fire dozens of rounds of ammunition without reloading, has also been a political battleground. | The wide availability of large-capacity ammunition magazines, which allow shooters to fire dozens of rounds of ammunition without reloading, has also been a political battleground. |
| For 10 years, under the 1994 federal assault weapon ban, Congress did limit the production and sale of certain kinds of semi-automatic rifles, as well as higher-capacity ammunition magazines. Congress allowed the ban to expire in 2004, though some states do have their own assault weapons bans still in place. The 1994 law was written in a way that allowed gun manufacturers to market and sell very similar military-style guns with only a few tweaks to make them ban-compliant. The ban also grandfathered in as legal guns and ammunition in banned categories that Americans had already owned. | For 10 years, under the 1994 federal assault weapon ban, Congress did limit the production and sale of certain kinds of semi-automatic rifles, as well as higher-capacity ammunition magazines. Congress allowed the ban to expire in 2004, though some states do have their own assault weapons bans still in place. The 1994 law was written in a way that allowed gun manufacturers to market and sell very similar military-style guns with only a few tweaks to make them ban-compliant. The ban also grandfathered in as legal guns and ammunition in banned categories that Americans had already owned. |
| Following previous mass shootings, some Democrats have argued that Congress should reinstate a broader ban on semi-automatic rifles styled after military weapons. A justice department-funded evaluation of the ban found no clear evidence that it had reduced violence, and concluded that the live-saving effects of even a much stricter ban “are likely to be small at best and perhaps too small for reliable measurement”. | Following previous mass shootings, some Democrats have argued that Congress should reinstate a broader ban on semi-automatic rifles styled after military weapons. A justice department-funded evaluation of the ban found no clear evidence that it had reduced violence, and concluded that the live-saving effects of even a much stricter ban “are likely to be small at best and perhaps too small for reliable measurement”. |
| Most gun murders in the United States are committed with ordinary handguns. Rifles of any kind were used in only about 3.5% of firearms murders from 2010 to 2014, according to a Guardian analysis of FBI data. | Most gun murders in the United States are committed with ordinary handguns. Rifles of any kind were used in only about 3.5% of firearms murders from 2010 to 2014, according to a Guardian analysis of FBI data. |