Las Vegas Shooting

[Crazedwraith]

Another mass shooting.

At least fifty people have been killed and at least 200 injured in a mass shooting at a Las Vegas concert.

A gunman, named as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel toward an open-air music festival.

Police said a suspect identified as a local resident was shot and killed by officers.

They said they were looking for a companion travelling with the suspect as a "person of interest".

Sheriff Joe Lombardo said police believed the shooting was a "lone wolf" style attack, but confirmed they were trying to locate an Asian female named as Marilou Danely.

Sheriff Lombardo said he was unable to accurately say the number of dead and injured, but confirmed two off-duty officers were among those killed.

A local hospital spokesperson said earlier that at least 14 of the injured were in a critical condition.

There had been reports of other incidents at different locations along the Las Vegas strip, but police said those reports were false.

Witnesses reported that hundreds of shots were fired.

Hundreds of people fled the scene and the sound of what appeared to be prolonged automatic gunfire could be heard on videos posted on social media.

Many hotels on the Las Vegas strip close to the scene remain on police lockdown as they search for two vehicles in relation to the attack.
Parts of Las Vegas Boulevard were shut as armed officers arrived at the scene.

People have been sheltering in hotels, restaurants and at Las Vegas McCarran airport.

A witness, Mike Thompson from London, told the BBC that he saw people running in total panic.

"One man had blood all over him and that's when I knew something was seriously wrong.

"People were running and there was chaos."

Some flights were diverted after news of the incident emerged.

The country music festival had been taking place since Friday at several hotels on the Las Vegas strip.

Nevada has some of the least stringent gun laws in the United States.

People are allowed to carry weapons and do not have to register themselves as a gun-owner.

Background checks are done when people buy guns, but they are also allowed to sell them privately.

The state does not ban assault weapons, which are automatic or semi-automatic firearms, and there are no limits on buying ammunition there.

What is there to say about this? It just another very sad event in a long string of them at this point.

[Col. Crackpot]

This one seems different... Sustained bursts of fully automatic fire. What was this lunatic using?

[Gandalf]

This one seems different... Sustained bursts of fully automatic fire. What was this lunatic using?

CNN has a brief bit on it, from their "law enforcement analyst," whatever that means.

James Gagliano, CNN law enforcement analyst said the audio of the shooting suggested that the shooter had used a military-style weapon.

"Automatic weapon like that, had to be numbers of magazines or a very large drum, it sounded to me like a belt-fed weapon, a military style weapon and then to be shooting down, to use the analogy, it was like shooting fish in a barrel in that space," Gagliano said.

[Col. Crackpot]

Listening to the video, it sounded like 15 second bursts of of several hundred rounds per minute... Belt fed makes sense. Fuck that's awful.

[Broomstick]

What's different?

Fully automatic fire. I woke up to this and hear the news heads saying "automatic fire" and think, yeah, yeah, usual media hyperbole, then saw/heard the video. Holy fucking shit, it was full auto fire. True automatic weapons are rare in the US.

The second thing - it was a country music crowd. Country music fans tend to be "God and guns" and heavily skewed toward 2nd amendment supporters. So... some irony there. But not funny, not funny at all.

[The Romulan Republic]

Jesus Christ.

And just when I thought that no shooting could possibly shock or surprise me any more. 250 casualties. My thoughts and prayers are with the wounded, and their families.

And yet, I still can't help thinking "Thank God it wasn't a Muslim". Because then the Usual Suspects would grab onto it with both hands to incite hatred and justify despotism.

I won't even bother getting into gun control. There's no point discussing it unless significant changes occur as to who's in government.

[Zwinmar]

It sounded like he was changing magazines or loading a fresh belt of ammo there. I'm inclined more toward the latter as changing belts can take a while for someone not used to the operation. Also, he was firing at the cyclic, which would indicate more of an amateur mindset. So I am guessing he didn't have any real training in automatic weapons.

[Alkaloid]

I'm on mobile so can't post the link, but the ABC is reporting at least 50 dead and 400 injured transported by the emergency services, unknow number of people took themselves/others to hospital.

[The Romulan Republic]

So, they're calling this the worst mass shooting in American history now.

Which I suppose means that this is also the worst attack we've suffered since 9/11.

I'm just praying that the shooter was a random nut who had no political motive whatsoever.

[Broomstick]

It sounded like he was changing magazines or loading a fresh belt of ammo there. I'm inclined more toward the latter as changing belts can take a while for someone not used to the operation. Also, he was firing at the cyclic, which would indicate more of an amateur mindset. So I am guessing he didn't have any real training in automatic weapons.

There are reports he had multiple rifles. So he might not have had to reload so much as pick up another gun.

That's assuming that's an accurate report. I expect we'll know more over the next few days.

Also reported that the shooter took his own life with a handgun and when the police stormed his room they found him already dead.

[Flagg]

Nothing to see or learn from, move along.

Don’t try to put measures in place to prevent these acts in the future or you’ll be accused of “politicizing” it.

Maybe President Cockroach will dedicate a golf trophy to the victims while congratulating himself.

[Col. Crackpot]

What scares me Flagg is that disarming the country could actually shed a whole hell of a lot more blood than the status quo. Ignoring the prospect of actually getting the laws passed, Do you honestly think that millions of "assault rifle" owners will all just hand their guns in when they are suddenly illegal? When the cops show up to collect them? They outnumber the cops. And the army.

[The Romulan Republic]

What scares me Flagg is that disarming the country could actually shed a whole hell of a lot more blood than the status quo. Ignoring the prospect of actually getting the laws passed, Do you honestly think that millions of "assault rifle" owners will all just hand their guns in when they are suddenly illegal? When the cops show up to collect them? They outnumber the cops. And the army.

In our current political climate?

Yeah, a nation-wide assault weapons ban would almost certainly trigger some level of armed resistance.

That's not a reason not to do it though. If you let threats of violence from extremists dictate policy, you might as well abandon democracy altogether.

[TheFeniX]

Just watched the video. There's about no doubt that was a full-auto.

The question is then: where'd he get it/them? The brother is saying he's not a "gun guy" and Assault Rifles (actual ones) are not something you just walk into an Academy and plop down a wad of cash for. Any manufactured after '86 are illegal to own, period. Any made before then can be purchased after dealing with the ATF and local law enforcement. And the people who own these weapons don't just leave them laying around. Some are worth tens of thousands of dollars and losing track of one means the ATF is going to have multiple unpleasant conversations with you.

If it was a full-auto weapon in use, there's really no laws you could realistically pass to combat this type of shooting. These laws are already there and it's a niche market to begin with.

If he was able to get his hands on a smuggled weapon, then how did he do it? There doesn't seem to be any indication this guy has experience in dealing with blackmarket weapons. And especially those that can maintain a semblance of accuracy during sustained full-auto fire and not break down into pieces or (literally) melt the firing pin.

[Jub]

Just watched the video. There's about no doubt that was a full-auto.

The question is then: where'd he get it/them? The brother is saying he's not a "gun guy" and Assault Rifles (actual ones) are not something you just walk into an Academy and plop down a wad of cash for. Any manufactured after '86 are illegal to own, period. Any made before then can be purchased after dealing with the ATF and local law enforcement. And the people who own these weapons don't just leave them laying around. Some are worth tens of thousands of dollars and losing track of one means the ATF is going to have multiple unpleasant conversations with you.

If it was a full-auto weapon in use, there's really no laws you could realistically pass to combat this type of shooting. These laws are already there and it's a niche market to begin with.

If he was able to get his hands on a smuggled weapon, then how did he do it? There doesn't seem to be any indication this guy has experience in dealing with blackmarket weapons. And especially those that can maintain a semblance of accuracy during sustained full-auto fire and not break down into pieces or (literally) melt the firing pin.

Reports are that he had 10 weapons loaded and ready for this attack. None would have to be of any particular quality for this attack.

[Patroklos]

Nothing to see or learn from, move along.

Don’t try to put measures in place to prevent these acts in the future or you’ll be accused of “politicizing” it.

Maybe President Cockroach will dedicate a golf trophy to the victims while congratulating himself.

Prevent owning and using automatic weapons? The only thing let is pretty much summary execution.

[TheFeniX]

Reports are that he had 10 weapons loaded and ready for this attack. None would have to be of any particular quality for this attack.

That just begs more questions: In the U.S. (Hell, MOST countries), a random guy doesn't just end-up with the better part of a dozen fully-automatic Assault Rifles. If he got them legally, the first one would be the hardest. After that, purchasing more is mostly about getting "your stamp" and dealing with the registration. The ATF would have multiple records at a level way above "the suspect was known to police." And the expenditure in cash would be significant. Something like a pre-ban M-16 (or in that area) could run you $15,000 - $20,000 just for the gun.

If they were stolen or bought illegally: where'd he get them? Like I said, even in the Gun Happy U.S.: you don't just end up with multiple machine-guns and Assault Rifles. A guy moving hardware that both local and federal governments would bury him for having makes it a point to be difficult to find. You don't just call up a buddy and say "know anyone who can sell me 10 machine guns?"

[Flagg]

What scares me Flagg is that disarming the country could actually shed a whole hell of a lot more blood than the status quo. Ignoring the prospect of actually getting the laws passed, Do you honestly think that millions of "assault rifle" owners will all just hand their guns in when they are suddenly illegal? When the cops show up to collect them? They outnumber the cops. And the army.

I never said disarming. The fact is that any measure put forth to prevent others with whatever this persons damage was from owning or having access to the means to pull off what just happened will be stonewalled by the gun lobby.

[Flagg]

Nothing to see or learn from, move along.

Don’t try to put measures in place to prevent these acts in the future or you’ll be accused of “politicizing” it.

Maybe President Cockroach will dedicate a golf trophy to the victims while congratulating himself.

Prevent owning and using automatic weapons? The only thing let is pretty much summary execution.

If they were full auto then they were almost certainly already illegal for this person to own and had he been caught prior to this a hefty jail sentence would have awaited. No “summary execution” required. Move along troll.

[Jub]

What scares me Flagg is that disarming the country could actually shed a whole hell of a lot more blood than the status quo. Ignoring the prospect of actually getting the laws passed, Do you honestly think that millions of "assault rifle" owners will all just hand their guns in when they are suddenly illegal? When the cops show up to collect them? They outnumber the cops. And the army.

I never said disarming. The fact is that any measure put forth to prevent others with whatever this persons damage was from owning or having access to the means to pull off what just happened will be stonewalled by the gun lobby.

You could just make them non-transferable and forfeit to the government upon death of the current owner. Then in a generation or two you'd have far less automatic weapons in general circulation. It's harsh but it could be done.

[Patroklos]

Nothing to see or learn from, move along.

Don’t try to put measures in place to prevent these acts in the future or you’ll be accused of “politicizing” it.

Maybe President Cockroach will dedicate a golf trophy to the victims while congratulating himself.

Prevent owning and using automatic weapons? The only thing let is pretty much summary execution.

If they were full auto then they were almost certainly already illegal for this person to own and had he been caught prior to this a hefty jail sentence would have awaited. No “summary execution” required. Move along troll.

That's the point high speed. You can't effectively make them any more illegal than they already are. So what the hell are you talking about? More laws on other/lesser weapons? What the hell would that do? Or did you not realize they were automatic?

[Jub]

Prevent owning and using automatic weapons? The only thing let is pretty much summary execution.

If they were full auto then they were almost certainly already illegal for this person to own and had he been caught prior to this a hefty jail sentence would have awaited. No “summary execution” required. Move along troll.

That's the point high speed. You can't effectively make them any more illegal than they already are. So what the hell are you talking about? More laws on other/lesser weapons? What the hell would that do? Or did you not realize they were automatic?

You know, just to your north we don't have automatic weapons in any sort of real circulation. This seems like a solvable problem if you ask me.

[Flagg]

Prevent owning and using automatic weapons? The only thing let is pretty much summary execution.

If they were full auto then they were almost certainly already illegal for this person to own and had he been caught prior to this a hefty jail sentence would have awaited. No “summary execution” required. Move along troll.

That's the point high speed. You can't effectively make them any more illegal than they already are. So what the hell are you talking about? More laws on other/lesser weapons? What the hell would that do? Or did you not realize they were automatic?

I did realize they were automatic, troll. Jub just mentioned one solution that the gun lobby in the country would go apoplectic about. It wouldn’t require summary execution. You could also just ban private ownership of automatic weapons, period. Something else that would drive the gun lobby crazy. Go troll somewhere else.

[Flagg]

If they were full auto then they were almost certainly already illegal for this person to own and had he been caught prior to this a hefty jail sentence would have awaited. No “summary execution” required. Move along troll.

That's the point high speed. You can't effectively make them any more illegal than they already are. So what the hell are you talking about? More laws on other/lesser weapons? What the hell would that do? Or did you not realize they were automatic?

You know, just to your north we don't have automatic weapons in any sort of real circulation. This seems like a solvable problem if you ask me.

Don’t bother, he’s doing his standard troll bullshit.

[Jub]

That's the point high speed. You can't effectively make them any more illegal than they already are. So what the hell are you talking about? More laws on other/lesser weapons? What the hell would that do? Or did you not realize they were automatic?

You know, just to your north we don't have automatic weapons in any sort of real circulation. This seems like a solvable problem if you ask me.

Don’t bother, he’s doing his standard troll bullshit.

Yeah but I'm bored waiting to head to work so I figured I pull the cord and see what messages the amazing walking talking strawman has prerecorded for our enjoyment.