Las Vegas Shooting

[bcla]

That’s like asking why did the Governor comment or why did Donald Trump comment? Or why did law enforcement from Henderson show? Why is the Sheriff from Mesquite helping out? Really?

Well - I was thinking this is the Governor's state, the President's country, Henderson probably provided mutual police aid, and the Mesquite Police is probably helping with the investigation.

But the Mayor of Las Vegas? She's got no authority where the shooting occurred and there doesn't seem to a relationship of the shooter to her city. She's got no authority over the county police department. To me it would be like the Mayor of Los Angeles getting up on a podium discussing a shooting that happened in Malibu.

 

[Elle23]

Therein lies the problem. Owning a gun would not have protected you from this mass killing.

Maybe not. But that mass shooting was just a symptom of a far greater problem in our society.

 

[neverlandsky]

Our hometown. We're beyond shocked and so many tears this morning. Having to explain this to our kids. We have some relatives that were in the thick of it and are safe. Some relatives decided last minute not to attend last night because they were tired. Some relatives that are locked down at work. All our relatives are safe and accounted for. No information on our friends, 2 of them police officers at this time.

Let me share this, LVMPD/NLVPD/HPD/Highway Patrol/Swat/Marshalls/FBI/Hotel Security (heads of hotel security that are former sheriffs and FBI agents)/First Responders practiced for an event like this often. Mayor Carolyn Goodman since 2011, wife of former mayor of Las Vegas 1999-2011 Oscar Goodman, both love-love Las Vegas very much! They are a very strong pillars of the community.

 

[bcla]

Why wouldn’t she? Where do you think The Strip is?

Paradise - about 4-5 miles outside the city limits of Las Vegas. I remember playing blackjack once at one of the big casino/hotels, and I was saying to the pit boss that I heard we weren't actually in the city of Las Vegas, and he said that was true. I think The Stratosphere is the only big hotel/casino on The Strip that's actually in the city of Las Vegas.

 

[supercarrie]

My 23 year old little sister was at the concert last night. I received a call from my mom as the shooting was still taking place and my sister was still not fully away from the site. My sister was thankfully towards the back of the area, heard the shots, recognized them as gunshots, and immediately told her friend to run. They had to crawl under fencing to escape, but made it out safely. Ended up with scrapes and bruises, but that is it, thank God. She told me they ran for nearly a mile, away from the area, but kept hearing the shots over and over and over. She ended up sheltering in place at an off strip hotel, before making it to a stranger's house, who let her shelter there, until a local Vegas friend could get to her. She spent the night there and was able to get back to her hotel this morning to retrieve her items and her car, and she is driving home now. Needless to say, I couldn't sleep until I heard she made it safely to her friend's house, and had a very hard time sleeping at all last night. Still in so much shock.

 

[CdnCarrie]

Just curious why the mayor would need to say anything. I thought this would have been well out of the actual city of Las Vegas.

This is what you want to discuss today. Really?

 

[Geoff_M]

Maybe not. But that mass shooting was just a symptom of a far greater problem in our society.

Here's the problem... you cannot take these events and just automatically start applying them to some sort of developing societal norm. At this point we have also zero information about why what happened happened. Some times these events can have causes outside of social breakdown, such as the University of Texas Tower shooting that many are comparing this to. That happened over 50 years ago and was linked to a mental defect in the shooter. An undiagnosed brain tumor that was found in the autopsy in the shooter may also have been a contributing factor.

 

[bcla]

If the firearms used were indeed automatic weapons, they have NOTHING to do with the so-called "Assault Weapon Ban". Those are two different types of firearms. The "ban" covered certain types of semi-automatic rifles.... not automatics.

Sure. There are the pre-1986 automatic weapons that are legal for most people to buy, and there's that big exception for licensed firearms dealers. A lot of armorers for movies have federal firearms licenses in order to provide such weapons.

There are illegal conversion kits though. Some of the companies that made the weapons sold parts that theoretically did nothing. It was kind of bizarre that they would sell stamped metal parts that weren't replacement parts for their weapons. But there were plenty of instructions out there on how to form them into parts that could be used to convert their weapons to fully automatic. I remember back then there were some semi-automatic weapons that were so easy to covert that the feds decided to classify then as fully automatic.

 

[AnnaFloridaLover]

Maybe not. But that mass shooting was just a symptom of a far greater problem in our society.

Yes, and guns are the problem not the solution. Having a gun in one's home would more likely be used in a domestic situation or suicide than protection of any kind.

Evil people and mentally ill people exist all over the world, however the US is the country with the problem of mass shootings and the availability of guns of all types.

 

[bcla]

This is what you want to discuss today. Really?

I'm just curious why she has to say anything (outside of perfunctory stuff that other mayors have said) since she's got no authority over this. There's been a lot of stuff being discussed. It sounds to me like she's saying all this stuff to get her name out in the news.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

We're here in Vegas right now, got in @ 7am.

We're at the Hoover Dam right now, I've never been before to Hoover Dam so I can't tell you if this a normal thing or due to heighten watch for today but there are members of a response team (didn't see exactly who from) here and they are carrying some sort of rifle with them; they are just stationed on the road of the dam itself for the most part.

When we were in the shuttle to the rental car facility there was a girl right by us who looked like she had been crying for a while. It's heartbreaking knowing she may have been there or knew someone who had been there (assuming that was the reason for her crying). The rental car shuttle driver was alerting people just in case they were unaware of what had happened last night.

When I was last in Vegas it was 8 years ago for my 21st bday..we stayed at Mandalay Bay..

We're not staying at that side of the strip but it still is disconcerting.

 

[Magpie]

We're getting a gun soon. Never had one in my life, but I think it's finally time. The world is in chaos and I have a family to protect in all of this madness.

Please, make you also get a good, thorough gun safety course and the usual safe/locks/etc. Most gun injuries happen within the home, and at the hands of family members and friends. A gun can be used to kill you, as easily as it can be used to kill someone else.

Also, keep in mind that owning a gun would not have helped you in this instance. Nor is the world, or even the US, more dangerous than it has been in the past. By every measure, except for the risk of nuclear war (which IS higher), the world is safer now than it's ever been in the past. Even in most US cities, crime is down, family violence is down, and most of us are safer than ever before.

If you decide to become a gun owner, do it for the right reasons. Owning a gun will not protect you from the (very, very, very tiny) chance that you'll be harmed by a terrorist and/or lone gunman with grievances. In fact, unless you're living in an unusually dangerous neighbourhood, owning a gun is not likely to increase your safety. If anything, you should be aware that you are bringing a dangerous weapon into your home, and understand the increased risk that brings with it.

Gun owners need to be clear-headed and rational, not fearful and living in a state of media-driven anxiety. If you're purchasing a gun because you feel that you're under attack from unknown sources, or because you believe the world is becoming more dangerous, then you're purchasing that gun for all the wrong reasons. And you run the risk of becoming a bigger threat to your family's safety, than any "bad guy" ever will be.

Source: I learned to shoot in the military reserves. My mother learned to shoot as a military family member in Germany. I have family and friends who own guns, for sport or hunting, and we keep them safely stored in either secure lockers or at the gun club. Guns are not, in most cases, at all useful for family or home defense. You're far better off just buying a big dog or keeping a baseball bat beside your bed.

 

[wonder whisper]

This report quoting NBC states Paddock was married and going through a divorce.

http://heavy.com/news/2017/10/stephen-paddock-criminal-record-lawsuit/

 

[bcla]

We're here in Vegas right now, got in @ 7am.

We're at the Hoover Dam right now, I've never been before to Hoover Dam so I can't tell you if this a normal thing or due to heighten watch for today but there are members of a response team (didn't see exactly who from) here and they are carrying some sort of rifle with them; they are just stationed on the road of the dam itself for the most part.

Bureau of Reclamation and the National Park Service have some heavy duty weapons. NPS law enforcement carry either semi-auto or fully auto rifles in their patrol vehicles.

 

[cabanafrau]

I'm just curious why she has to say anything (outside of perfunctory stuff that other mayors have said) since she's got no authority over this. There's been a lot of stuff being discussed. It sounds to me like she's saying all this stuff to get her name out in the news.

Well, if it sounds like that to you I'm sure that's evidence enough to cast her comments in an unflattering light. After all, it's completely unlikely that the entire community of the Las Vegas valley is affected by this atrocity.

 

[wonder whisper]

No mention of a wife or divorce

This report is quoting NBC News as stating Paddock was married and going through a divorce:

http://heavy.com/news/2017/10/stephen-paddock-criminal-record-lawsuit/

 

[IAHFTPT]

Thanks Amber. I didn't realize they were implying I sought it out and/or it was unusual for me to know. It's pretty blatantly in the news-I heard it on the radio before 8am.

I wasn't implying anything if you mean me.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Not necessarily. The effective ban on automatic weapons was federal. Pre-1986 automatic weapons were grandfathered in as legal. Even though many are old and kind of hanging in there, they fetch an extreme premium price because they can be transferred. I heard a few companies still had/have unassembled pre-1986 receivers that allow them to make essentially new automatic weapons that can be transferred. Heck - there are billboards all over the Vegas area advertising gun ranges that rent out automatic weapons. Many are these older ones.

After 1986, it's possible for licensed firearms dealers to acquire automatic weapons, but they can't be transferred to someone who isn't a licensed dealer. This is how movie/TV get a lot of their weapons, although these days they might just obtain the use of semiautomatic weapons or even fakes and then use digital effects.

Law enforcement officers can obtain automatic weapons, although an agency might have policies that don't allow their officers to obtain them as personal weapons. There was a scandal a few years back in the Sacramento area of several officers obtaining automatic weapons and selling them on the black market.

Correct, highly regulated since 1934, and all but impossible to legally obtain post 1986 without a huge wad of cash (along with very stringent background regs). If it was indeed a belt-fed M60 or the like, it's easlily a $100,000 weapon.

 

[mom2rtk]

Correct, highly regulated since 1934, and all but impossible to legally obtain post 1986 without a huge wad of cash (along with very stringent background regs). If it was indeed a belt-fed M60 or the like, it's easlily a $100,000 weapon.

Just saw the latest comments with the shooter's brother. He referred to him as a "wealthy" man. So who knows.

 

[Stitch69]

I'm just curious why she has to say anything (outside of perfunctory stuff that other mayors have said) since she's got no authority over this. There's been a lot of stuff being discussed. It sounds to me like she's saying all this stuff to get her name out in the news.

this thread has jumped the shark