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| Las Vegas Shooting: N.R.A. Supports New Rules on ‘Bump Stock’ Devices | Las Vegas Shooting: N.R.A. Supports New Rules on ‘Bump Stock’ Devices |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| LAS VEGAS — The National Rifle Association on Thursday endorsed tighter restrictions on devices that allow a rifle to fire bullets as fast as a machine gun — a rare, if small, step for a group that for years has vehemently opposed any new gun controls. | LAS VEGAS — The National Rifle Association on Thursday endorsed tighter restrictions on devices that allow a rifle to fire bullets as fast as a machine gun — a rare, if small, step for a group that for years has vehemently opposed any new gun controls. |
| Twelve of the rifles the Las Vegas gunman, Stephen Paddock, had in a high-rise hotel suite when he opened fire on a crowd on Sunday were outfitted with “bump stocks,” devices that allow a semiautomatic rifle to fire hundreds of rounds per minute, which may explain how he was able to shoot so quickly, killing 58 people and wounding hundreds of others. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has ruled that bump stocks do not violate laws that tightly limit ownership of machine guns, and some lawmakers have called for them to be banned. | Twelve of the rifles the Las Vegas gunman, Stephen Paddock, had in a high-rise hotel suite when he opened fire on a crowd on Sunday were outfitted with “bump stocks,” devices that allow a semiautomatic rifle to fire hundreds of rounds per minute, which may explain how he was able to shoot so quickly, killing 58 people and wounding hundreds of others. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has ruled that bump stocks do not violate laws that tightly limit ownership of machine guns, and some lawmakers have called for them to be banned. |
| The bureau should revisit the issue and “immediately review whether these devices comply with federal law,” the N.R.A. said in a statement released Thursday. “The N.R.A. believes that devices designed to allow semiautomatic rifles to function like fully-automatic rifles should be subject to additional regulations.” | The bureau should revisit the issue and “immediately review whether these devices comply with federal law,” the N.R.A. said in a statement released Thursday. “The N.R.A. believes that devices designed to allow semiautomatic rifles to function like fully-automatic rifles should be subject to additional regulations.” |
| • Investigators were still struggling on Thursday to understand what motivated the gunman to open fire on concertgoers at the Route 91 Harvest Festival. The F.B.I. continues to search electronic devices belonging to Mr. Paddock, but investigators have not found a manifesto or signs that he held extremist views. | |
| • A note the gunman left on a table inside his suite at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino had numbers written on it, Sheriff Joseph Lombardo of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said in an interview on Thursday. He said the authorities were trying to determine what the numbers meant, but the sheriff said the document was not a suicide note. | |
| • Mr. Paddock may have scouted other locations before targeting Las Vegas, including Fenway Park in Boston, the Lollapalooza show in Chicago and the Life Is Beautiful music festival in Las Vegas. | |
| • Investigators have identified 47 firearms belonging to Mr. Paddock, including many that he bought in past months. Sheriff Lombardo said on Wednesday that the authorities wanted to know if something happened in his life that led him to stockpile weapons. | |
| • Mr. Paddock fired at least two rifle rounds that struck a jet fuel tank on the western perimeter of McCarran International Airport, an airport spokesman said on Thursday. But the authorities do not believe the gunman targeted the tank. | |
| On Capitol Hill, support appeared to grow for a ban on the bump stock devices, either through regulation or legislation, as Republicans — who for decades have rejected any form of gun restrictions — began increasingly to speak out. Several leading Republicans, including Senator John Cornyn, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, have raised serious questions about the devices. | On Capitol Hill, support appeared to grow for a ban on the bump stock devices, either through regulation or legislation, as Republicans — who for decades have rejected any form of gun restrictions — began increasingly to speak out. Several leading Republicans, including Senator John Cornyn, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, have raised serious questions about the devices. |
| In the House, Representative Carlos Curbelo, Republican of Florida, has drafted a measure banning bump stocks, which he said he planned to introduce on Thursday. He said his office had been “flooded” with calls from dozens of fellow Republicans who wanted to sign on. | In the House, Representative Carlos Curbelo, Republican of Florida, has drafted a measure banning bump stocks, which he said he planned to introduce on Thursday. He said his office had been “flooded” with calls from dozens of fellow Republicans who wanted to sign on. |
| “I think we are on the verge of a breakthrough when it comes to sensible gun policy,” Mr. Curbelo said. | “I think we are on the verge of a breakthrough when it comes to sensible gun policy,” Mr. Curbelo said. |
| His comments followed those of House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, who during an interview with MSNBC also raised questions about the conversion kits, and said he was open to legislation. “Clearly that’s something we need to look into,” Mr. Ryan said. | His comments followed those of House Speaker Paul D. Ryan, who during an interview with MSNBC also raised questions about the conversion kits, and said he was open to legislation. “Clearly that’s something we need to look into,” Mr. Ryan said. |
| Separately, Representative Adam Kinzinger, Republican of Illinois, is circulating a letter among his colleagues, calling on the A.T.F. to re-evaluate bump stocks, which he said had “no place in civilized society.” | |
| Chief Greg Cassell of the Clark County Fire Department said on Thursday that several factors complicated the department’s response to the mass shooting, but he praised the emergency responders as heroic. | Chief Greg Cassell of the Clark County Fire Department said on Thursday that several factors complicated the department’s response to the mass shooting, but he praised the emergency responders as heroic. |
| “We had a lot of challenges with this event,” Mr. Cassell said at a news conference. Wounded concertgoers fled to various hotels and called 911 from there, he said. “By the time it got relayed, it was ‘There’s a shooter at this location,’” he said. “It was, ‘People were shot.’” | “We had a lot of challenges with this event,” Mr. Cassell said at a news conference. Wounded concertgoers fled to various hotels and called 911 from there, he said. “By the time it got relayed, it was ‘There’s a shooter at this location,’” he said. “It was, ‘People were shot.’” |
| Typically, all 911 calls from a single event would be linked, he said. But because of the confusion on Sunday night, operators logged the calls as coming from 32 separate incidents, each of which needed to be investigated. Mr. Cassell said they wondered, “Are we under a Mumbai-style attack, where we’ve got multiple things going on at multiple properties?” | Typically, all 911 calls from a single event would be linked, he said. But because of the confusion on Sunday night, operators logged the calls as coming from 32 separate incidents, each of which needed to be investigated. Mr. Cassell said they wondered, “Are we under a Mumbai-style attack, where we’ve got multiple things going on at multiple properties?” |
| He was referring to a group of coordinated terror attacks in Mumbai, India, in November 2008, when gunmen stormed two hotels, a railroad station, a restaurant, a hospital and a Jewish center; 160 people were killed. | He was referring to a group of coordinated terror attacks in Mumbai, India, in November 2008, when gunmen stormed two hotels, a railroad station, a restaurant, a hospital and a Jewish center; 160 people were killed. |
| Mr. Cassell said that as crews were heading to the concert area in Las Vegas, they encountered injured people in every direction, so they stopped, aided those patients and called for more help, rather than continuing to the site of the shooting. | |
| He said a total of 160 members of local fire departments responded to the emergency. Only one was hurt, suffering a minor injury from a fall. | He said a total of 160 members of local fire departments responded to the emergency. Only one was hurt, suffering a minor injury from a fall. |
| “We’ve been somewhat planning on a major event in our valley for an awful, awful long time along these lines,” he said. “We never planned on what happened the other night.” | “We’ve been somewhat planning on a major event in our valley for an awful, awful long time along these lines,” he said. “We never planned on what happened the other night.” |
| In her first public statement since the shooting, the gunman’s girlfriend said on Wednesday that he had sent her on a trip to the Philippines and wired her money there, but that she did not know he had been planning to harm anyone. | In her first public statement since the shooting, the gunman’s girlfriend said on Wednesday that he had sent her on a trip to the Philippines and wired her money there, but that she did not know he had been planning to harm anyone. |
| The statement from the woman, Marilou Danley, which was read by her lawyer, Matthew Lombard, came after Ms. Danley went to the Los Angeles offices of the F.B.I. for questioning, according to a law enforcement official. It was released as the authorities sought her insight into what prompted a man with no evident criminal history to become a mass murderer. | The statement from the woman, Marilou Danley, which was read by her lawyer, Matthew Lombard, came after Ms. Danley went to the Los Angeles offices of the F.B.I. for questioning, according to a law enforcement official. It was released as the authorities sought her insight into what prompted a man with no evident criminal history to become a mass murderer. |
| She stressed that she returned to the United States voluntarily, “because I know that the F.B.I. and the Las Vegas police department wanted to talk to me, and I wanted to talk to them.” | She stressed that she returned to the United States voluntarily, “because I know that the F.B.I. and the Las Vegas police department wanted to talk to me, and I wanted to talk to them.” |
| Ms. Danley said she never believed her “kind, caring, quiet” boyfriend was capable of killing 58 people and wounding hundreds more. | Ms. Danley said she never believed her “kind, caring, quiet” boyfriend was capable of killing 58 people and wounding hundreds more. |
| “He never said anything to me or took any action that I was aware of, that I understood in any way to be a warning that something horrible like this was going to happen,” she said. | “He never said anything to me or took any action that I was aware of, that I understood in any way to be a warning that something horrible like this was going to happen,” she said. |
| The gunman’s motive remains unknown, Sheriff Lombardo said on Wednesday. Despite the meticulous planning that went into the attack, the gunman left behind few obvious traces, with no social media footprint to examine or manifesto to be pored over, he said. | The gunman’s motive remains unknown, Sheriff Lombardo said on Wednesday. Despite the meticulous planning that went into the attack, the gunman left behind few obvious traces, with no social media footprint to examine or manifesto to be pored over, he said. |
| The sheriff indicated that Mr. Paddock may have blended in intentionally, hiding the urge to violence that drove him to one of the deadliest mass shootings in modern United States history. | The sheriff indicated that Mr. Paddock may have blended in intentionally, hiding the urge to violence that drove him to one of the deadliest mass shootings in modern United States history. |
| “Anything that would indicate this individual’s trigger point, that would cause him to do such harm, we haven’t understood it yet,” the sheriff said. “Don’t you think the concealment of his history, of his life, was well-thought-out?” | “Anything that would indicate this individual’s trigger point, that would cause him to do such harm, we haven’t understood it yet,” the sheriff said. “Don’t you think the concealment of his history, of his life, was well-thought-out?” |
| Investigators continue to piece together the life and mind-set of a gunman who had no apparent history of violence. “What we know is Stephen Paddock is a man who spent decades acquiring weapons and ammo and living a secret life, much of which will never be fully understood,” the sheriff said. | |
| Mr. Lombardo said that a few days before the shooting, the gunman took another set of rooms in a high-rise building near another music festival. Through Airbnb, he rented a unit in the Ogden, a condominium building in downtown Las Vegas with a view of the Life Is Beautiful festival, held from Sept. 22 to Sept. 25. | |
| At least three of the rifles Mr. Paddock had in his luxury suite on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino were equipped with scopes. | At least three of the rifles Mr. Paddock had in his luxury suite on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino were equipped with scopes. |