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Las Vegas shooting: Did guns use bump-stocks to fire faster? Las Vegas shooting: Gun used 'bump-stock' device to shoot faster
(about 11 hours later)
US media are reporting that the gunman who killed almost 60 people at a concert in Las Vegas on Sunday may have used legal but controversial accessories to allow semi-automatic rifles to fire hundreds of rounds per minute. Police say that the gunman who killed almost 60 people at a concert in Las Vegas had outfitted a legal but controversial accessory onto 12 of his semi-automatic rifles to enable them to fire hundreds of rounds per minute.
Two officials told the Associated Press that two devices known as "bump-stocks" had been found along with 23 guns inside Stephen Paddock's room at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. Officials say that theses devices - known as bump-stocks - have been found along with 23 guns inside Stephen Paddock's room at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.
It is not yet clear whether the stocks were fitted to the weapons that Paddock used in the massacre, but experts say they could explain the rapid rate of fire heard in videos shared on social media. Bump-stocks, or slide fire adapters, allow semi-automatic rifles to fire at a high rate, similar to a machine gun, but can be obtained without the extensive background checks required of purchasing automatic weapons.
Audio analysis of one clip estimated that about 90 rounds were unleashed in only 10 seconds - far faster than a human being could repeatedly pull a trigger.Audio analysis of one clip estimated that about 90 rounds were unleashed in only 10 seconds - far faster than a human being could repeatedly pull a trigger.
Since Congress passed the Firearm Owners' Protection Act in 1986, it has been extremely difficult for civilians to buy new, fully automatic weapons, which reload automatically and fire continuously as long as the trigger is depressed. Lawmakers have questioned the legality of these devices while gun owners - sensing a legislative crackdown - have reportedly begun stockpiling them.
Thousands of "grandfathered" weapons - those manufactured and registered before 1986 - can still be bought, but they are very expensive and all sales must be approved by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Since Congress passed the Firearm Owners' Protection Act in 1986, it has been relatively difficult for civilians to buy new, fully automatic weapons, which reload automatically and fire continuously as long as the trigger is depressed.
However, thousands of "grandfathered" weapons - those manufactured and registered before 1986 - can still be bought but are very expensive and all sales must be approved by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
It is also illegal to modify the internal components of semi-automatic rifles - which typically manage about 60 aimed shots per minute - to make them fully automatic.It is also illegal to modify the internal components of semi-automatic rifles - which typically manage about 60 aimed shots per minute - to make them fully automatic.
However, gun owners can legally buy accessories to increase the rate of fire. Gun owners can instead legally buy accessories to increase the rate of fire.
One option is a "trigger crank", "hellfire trigger", or "gat crank", which bolts on to the trigger guard of a semi-automatic rifle and depresses the trigger several times with every rotation. One option is a "trigger crank", "hellfire trigger", or "gat crank", which bolts onto the trigger guard of a semi-automatic rifle and depresses the trigger several times with every rotation.
A bump-stock, or "slide fire", meanwhile harnesses a rifle's recoil. It replaces the weapon's stock, which is held against the shoulder, and allows the rest of the rifle to slide back and forward with every shot despite having no mechanical parts or springs. But the bump-stock, which was used by Stephen Paddock in Sunday's Las Vegas shooting, harnesses a rifle's recoil.
It replaces the weapon's stock, which is held against the shoulder, and allows the rest of the rifle to slide back and forward with every shot despite having no mechanical parts or springs.
The motion makes the trigger collide with, or bump, the shooter's finger as long as they apply forward pressure with the non-shooting hand and rearward pressure with the shooting hand.The motion makes the trigger collide with, or bump, the shooter's finger as long as they apply forward pressure with the non-shooting hand and rearward pressure with the shooting hand.
Following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut in 2012, California Senator Dianne Feinstein introduced a bill that sought to ban bump-stocks and similar devices, saying that manufacturers were exploiting "loopholes" to circumvent gun laws. However, the bill was defeated in the Senate.Following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut in 2012, California Senator Dianne Feinstein introduced a bill that sought to ban bump-stocks and similar devices, saying that manufacturers were exploiting "loopholes" to circumvent gun laws. However, the bill was defeated in the Senate.
In the wake of the Las Vegas shooting, Mrs Feinstein re-introduced a bill on Wednesday that would outlaw the sale and possession of bump-stock equipment and other similar devices.