Trump and gun lobby ‘very open’ to restricting rifle tool used by killer
AMERICA’S biggest gun lobby, senior Republicans and the White House all indicated yesterday they would consider supporting a ban on “bump stocks” – the device that allowed Las Vegas gunman Stephen Paddock to increase the rate of fire of his high powered weapons.
It came after years of opposition by Republicans and the influential National Rifle Association (NRA) to increased gun restrictions in the wake of other previous massacres.
Meanwhile, the FBI was investigating whether Paddock originally intended to target the Lollapalooza music festival in Chicago in August.
Malia Obama, former president Barack Obama’s 19-.year-old daughter, was at that event and acts included the British band Muse and Liam Gallagher.
They also suspected Paddock may have had help from an accomplice, and that he had an “escape plan” in place which ultimately failed.
FBI agents were seeking to identify a mystery woman seen with Paddock in the days before the mass shooting. She was believed to have been spotted with him on CCTV. His long-time girlfriend Marilou Danley had already flown to the Philippines at that point.
In its unexpected intervention, the NRA called on President Donald Trump’s administration to review whether bump stocks comply with current law. Wayne Lapierre, its chief executive, said: “The NRA believes that devices designed to allow semi-automatic rifles to function like fully automatic rifles should be subject to additional regulations.”
Sarah Sanders, Mr Trump’s press secretary, said the White House was “very open” to restricting them. She said: “We would certainly like to be part of that conversation. We would look at taking any step that would prevent this happening again.”
Paddock had 12 bump stocks which he used to convert his legal semi-automatic weapons to fire like more heavily restricted fully automatic machine guns, unleashing hundreds of rounds a minute. Kellyanne Conway, the president’s counsellor, blamed Barack Obama for allowing bump stocks to be legal in the first place. She said: “I did note it was president Obama’s ATF, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Fire- arms, in 2010 that decided not to regulate this device. That should also be part of the conversation.”
Amid suggestions of a ban there was an immediate spike in demand for bump stocks which sold out in gun shops across America. Paul Ryan, the Republican house speaker, said: “I didn’t even know what they (bump stocks) were until this week, and I’m an avid sportsman... clearly, it’s something we’re going to look into.”
But Larry Pratt, executive director of the Gun Owners of America, warned Republican politicians against “spinelessness,” and said if they voted to ban bump stocks they would be “held accountable”.
Paddock, 64, killed 58 people and injured nearly 500 after he opened fire on a country music festival from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Hotel on Sunday night. He was previously believed to have booked two rooms overlooking the much bigger Lollapalooza in Chicago’s Blackstone hotel but never turned up. Analysis of his computer also suggested he had researched
‘I didn’t even know what bump stocks were until this week, and I’m an avid sportsman’
Fenway Park, a baseball park in Boston. In Las Vegas it emerged Paddock also used his sniper’s perch to fire at jet fuel tankers at the nearby airport, next to where the country music festival was held. One tank was hit but did not explode. Paddock’s escape was foiled by Jesus Campos, a hotel security guard who was first to reach his suite, armed with only a baton. Mr Campos was shot in the leg through the door and survived as Paddock fired 200 bullets into the corridor. The guard, who still has a bullet in his right leg, told ABC News: “I’m fine. I was just doing my job.”
Joe Lombardo, Las Vegas sheriff, said he believed an accomplice was probable, and that Paddock would need to have been a “super-hero” to pull off his planned escape alone. Around 50lbs of explosives and another 1,600 rounds of ammunition had been found in Paddock’s parked car at the Mandalay Bay, he said. It emerged 33 of the 47 guns Paddock owned were bought over the last year. The FBI was investigating what caused him to start buying them.