Alabama Shootings Question...

Since the usual terms "assault rifle" etc have not appeared, and because of the descriptions given so far, it appears to me that it may be an actual full auto rifle of some kind. Purely speculation of course, very little fact is out yet.

Legally owned or not remains to be seen I guess.

If an illegally owned machinegun then the usual ranting and raving about "bans" would not apply since they are already banned and heavily regulated.

Which leads back to where it always does; criminals don't tend to obey gun laws. Or any law.

Since the usual terms "assault rifle" etc have not appeared, and because of the descriptions given so far, it appears to me that it may be an actual full auto rifle of some kind.

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McLendon was armed with two assault rifles, an SKS and a Bushmaster, using high-capacity magazines taped together; a shotgun; and a .38-caliber handgun. At this time we believe that he fired in excess of 200 rounds during the assaults. Source.

an SKS, a Bushmaster AR, a shotgun, and a .38 cal handgun.

From CNN:

McLendon was armed with two assault rifles, two semiautomatic weapons, a handgun and a shotgun, and "high-capacity" rounds.

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And how much do you want to bet that the two assault rifles and two semiautomatic weapons end up being the same two guns?

I wonder if these are what they mean by "high-capacity" rounds:

High capacity rounds huh.... buck shot maybe. Or they meant magazines What a tragedy. Too bad no one was armed besides police to fight back.

FoxNews earlier had "machine-gun" in the lead line----not posted now........................

Prior too these incidents, an NCIC record check revealed that McLendon had
NO criminal record~!

A guy can snap, that's all there is to it.

Does anyone know what type of gun/guns the shooter actually used?

In this article in USATODAY by Larry Copeland, the following quote:

The metal gun cabinet in McLendon's bedroom was open and emptied, McAliley says. McAliley counted more than 20 empty boxes of ammunition strewn on the bedroom floor. He says McClendon used several high powered rifles, at least two pistols and a fully automatic high powered rifle in the shooting spree.

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Rest of article:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-03-10-alabama-shooting_N.htm

I heard the speaker of that quote that Jorg referred to, on the radio. If he could have read it in a move fevered pitch, I'd have thought he was hyperventilating.

I think any event like this is going to be hammered home again and again, with as many fearful buzzwords as possible. Of course it has nothing to do with the stress from the current economic downturn and everything to do with guns!

jm

A guy can snap, that's all there is to it.

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And when it happens, it doesn't matter what tool is at hand be it gun, chainsaw, knife or rock.

You cannot legislate away human on human violence and crime merely by restricting access to certain tools.

Let's keep everything in perspective when bashing the media. For a case like this, only gun geeks are paying attention to the details about the particular guns and the correct terminology.

Everybody else just sees 200 rounds and 10 people dead. All they know is "psycho dude went berserk." The intricacies of the terminology don't really matter for such a horrendous case. Whether the media uses "sprayed" or "fired", it doesn't matter. This case is fubar.

One other point - and BELIEVE ME, I don't generally defend the news media - they work feverishly to gather and disperse info quickly and they usually wind up getting lots of things wrong as they hastily reconstruct the event. It's kinda a trial-and-error process that becomes clearer after a day or two. But because of 24-hour news services, we're all privy to those errors as they try to get the story straight.

Reminds me of the wild stories & the misinformation during the days following the Lincoln assassination.

The intricacies of the terminology don't really matter for such a horrendous case.

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When do facts NOT matter?

Josh Sugerman ADMITTED that he INTENTIONALLY confused semi-automatic and automatic firearms to get the AWB passed.

Do not EVER give these pathological liars a pass on their lies.

Sounds like the OPs question has been asked and answered.

Anyone that finds the MSM's reporting of this event onerous should probably take the time to write them a note and let them know how much their efforts at drama are unappreciated.

And when it happens, it doesn't matter what tool is at hand be it gun, chainsaw, knife or rock.

You cannot legislate away human on human violence and crime merely by restricting access to certain tools.

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I totally agree.

Prior too these incidents, an NCIC record check revealed that McLendon had
NO criminal record~!

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I find it interesting that most if not all of these so-called people who 'snap' are always sane enough to kill themselves, or shot and killed so that there can be no complete investigation. I feel horrible for the family members involved.

The media don't know their ASSault rifle from a hole in the ground.

I know that a lot of shooters like to complain that the term "assault rifle" has no meaning, or means something very particular, but to be realistic, and AR or an SKS is an assault rifle. The term was defined in the AWB, and the definition persists, even if the Federal ban is no longer in force.

It will be interesting to see if there really was a "fully automatic" weapon used in this incident.

I know that a lot of shooters like to complain that the term "assault rifle" has no meaning, or means something very particular, but to be realistic, and AR or an SKS is an assault rifle. The term was defined in the AWB, and the definition persists, even if the Federal ban is no longer in force.

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Can you provide a cite for this? As far as I recall, there was no definition for an assault rifle, only an assault weapon.

Alabama Shooting

"Let's keep everything in perspective when bashing the media. For a case like this, only gun geeks are paying attention to the details about the particular guns and the correct terminology."

And matheath's description of the news cycle is spot on. Associated Press reporters work for peanuts to get facts out as fast as they can move them. Considering the obstacles they face, they usually do a pretty good job that improves when they have more time. I'm glad I don't have to put all my work mistakes on display for the whole world to see.

P*ss and moan about the press all you like and look at the company you're keeping. In Russia, they shoot reporters who get too close to telling the truth about corruption. In China and Iran, they throw them in prison or cut their heads off. I don't think Hitler or Stalin were great admirers of a free press, either.

As far as I recall, there was no definition for an assault rifle, only an assault weapon.

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The point is that the English language has moved on. An assault weapon that is a rifle is an assault rifle. And so is anything derived from the AR platform, or any other "tactical" semi-automatic shooting a rifle cartridge. Get over it.

(I would draw the line at calling a 9mm KelTec or HiPoint an assault rifle.)

Did you always order "Classic Coke" over the last decade or so? They just dropped the "Classic" about a week ago.

And matheath's description of the news cycle is spot on. Associated Press reporters work for peanuts to get facts out as fast as they can move them. Considering the obstacles they face, they usually do a pretty good job that improves when they have more time. I'm glad I don't have to put all my work mistakes on display for the whole world to see.

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Being paid peanuts to report non-facts. Makes sense to me. So I guess you are agreeing with the fact that the AP is worthless at presenting facts?