LAS VEGAS (AP) — The man who unleashed hundreds of rounds of gunfire on a crowd of concertgoers in Las Vegas had two accessories that could have allowed his semi-automatic rifles to fire rapidly and continuously, as if they were fully automatic weapons, officials said.
Though legally and widely available, the so-called “bump stocks” have attracted scrutiny from authorities and lawmakers in recent years.
California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who has long expressed concern over the availability of such accessories, said Tuesday that Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock modified at least one of his weapons with a bump stock device, but she did not elaborate.
“Individuals are able to purchase bump fire stocks for less than $200 and easily convert a semi-automatic weapon into a firearm that can shoot between 400 and 800 rounds per minute and inflict absolute carnage,” she said, calling for a ban on their sale.
A semi-automatic weapon requires one trigger pull for each round fired. With a fully automatic firearm, one trigger pull can unleash continuous rounds until the magazine is empty.
The bump-stock devices work by manipulating the trigger mechanism extremely rapidly, far faster than a person could do so without them.
Barry Allen, a concealed carry handgun instructor in Wendell, North Carolina, says it is a misconception that a bump stock can turn a semi-automatic firearm into a fully-automatic firearm.
“It does nothing to change the mechanism or mechanics of the gun,” said Allen. “It changes the mechanism of the shooter.
Allen says bump stocks cause the rifle to bounce forward with every shot. The recoil of the gun pushes it back, allowing the shooter’s finger to continuously push on the trigger, letting the gun fire at a rate close to a fully-automatic weapon.
“You wouldn’t buy one today and be proficient with it this afternoon, it takes a little practice to make it happen,” said Allen.
Authorities found two bump stocks in Paddock’s hotel room, two officials familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press.
They are investigating whether those items were used to modify weapons used in the massacre, according to the officials, who were briefed by law enforcement and spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is still unfolding.
Sheriff Joseph Lombardo hasn’t said whether they played a role in the rampage.
Witnesses and law enforcement official said the quick, 50-round bursts of gunfire raised the possibility that Paddock had used a fully automatic weapon or modified his semi-automatic rifles to function like one. Paddock had 23 guns in his hotel room.
Yet the purchasing of fully automatic weapons has been significantly restricted in the U.S. since the 1930s.
In 1986, the federal National Firearms Act was amended further to prohibit the transfer or possession of machine guns by civilians, with an exception for those previously manufactured and registered.
Numerous attempts to design retrofits failed until recent years when bump stocks came on the market.
Bump stocks are legal to purchase. In a letter to manufacturers of bump stocks, the ATF wrote the accessories, “[have] no automatically functioning mechanical parts or springs and [perform] no automatic function when installed.”
___
Gurman reported from Washington. Associated Press Writers Richard Lardner in Washington and Lisa Marie Pane in Atlanta contributed to this report.
