Insights And Ponderings On The Las Vegas Shootings By A Retired Cop.

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Author; Oren Long;

As a retired cop I have been pondering the Las Vegas Massacre and have some questions and observations.

How could a 64-year old man, out of shape and in poor health, run 24 feet, from room to room (the two windows were in different rooms), pick up a gun, REPEATEDLY, for TEN MINUTES, and fire on a crowd below?   From what we know, he was not physically able to do that, in a [combat] situation, and why would he?  

Allegedly, he used "Bump Stocks" to turn semi-automatic weapons into "automatic" weapons.   Well, I have checked out "Bump Stocks" to research this email.   THEY ARE TRASH -- unless a person just wants to "spray" a crowd.   Apparently, that is what the shooter wanted to do, kill as many as possible in the shortest amount of time.   So, given that the shooter was not aiming at any specific target, a "Bump Stock" equipped, "automatic" weapon could do the job.   And, the shooter's weapons were apparently mounted on tri-pods for better stability and accuracy.   

     

Here's what a "Bump Stock" is and does:   A rifle equipped with a Bump Stock is held an inch or two away from the shooter's shoulder.   When the trigger is pulled, the rifle bumps back into the shooter's shoulder (Hence, the name "Bump") activating the injection of the next round faster than a normal person can pull a trigger.   Hence, the weapon simulates a fully automatic weapon.   BUT (and this is a HUGE "but"), in so doing, the shooter looses ALL control of the aiming of the weapon.   Ergo, a "Bump Stock" equipped weapon is of NO  value, whatsoever, UNLESS a shooter is just trying to spray a general area which is apparently what the shooter was wanting to do.   

BUT, since semi-automatic weapons are not designed for fully automatic fire, they will quickly overheat and either jam or stop working when fired incessantly, as in fully automatic mode.   For example, in WWII the Germans had MG-42 machineguns.   The gunners had to carry extra barrels, replacing overheated barrels from time to time.   This could be why the Las Vegas shooter had so many guns.   All he had to do was drop an overheated gun and pick up another.   

Plus, it takes time for an overheated weapon to cool down, more time than it would take to run into another room, fire from a second window, overheat another gun, then run back to the first gun which had not yet cooled down.   Again, this could explain why he had so many guns; just pick up another gun and continue firing.   BUT, if that is the case, why not just pick up a different gun and keep firing?   Why change locations, using up valuable time?      

NONE of the above can explain why the shooter ran, out-of-shape, from room to room, slipping and sliding on thousands of expended cartridges, picking up another weapon, to continue firing.   It makes no sense!   Wouldn't it make much more sense, IF WE ARE TALKING ABOUT A SINGLE SHOOTER, to just put down the overheated weapon and pick up another?   After all, he had many, many, many weapons in the rooms AND had apparently carefully planned the attack to the last detail.   Why would he overlook this one, very important, detail?   The only logical conclusion is that there were multiple shooters, as testified to by MULTIPLE victim/witnesses who said that they saw gunfire coming from BOTH  windows in the shooter's suite AND multiple floors -- SIMULTANEOUSLY!   As Sherlock Holmes said, "When all other possibilities are eliminated, the only one remaining, however improbable, is probably the truth".  

There is another factor to consider.   About 600 people were killed or wounded.   Given that the shooter was just spraying the area, aiming at no one in particular, he HAD to expend thousands and thousands of rounds.   Given that he was firing for about 10 minutes, AND the crowd immediately began to disperse, I would bet that about a thousand rounds per minute were fired.   That would be at least 16 rounds per second, more than ANY manually operated machinegun can fire.   Even if he only fired 500 rounds per minute, that is still 8 rounds per second, still more than is possible, ESPECIALLY if he was wasting time, running from room to room, picking up a fresh weapon and firing without stopping.   And, all while slipping and sliding over expended rounds.   

Here's an example of what I am talking about:   In WWII, shipboard anti-aircraft batteries fired an average 3,000 rounds for every hit made on an enemy aircraft, and the batteries were firmly bolted to the deck and manned by trained crews.   Granted, the batteries were aiming at specific targets, but that's exactly my point.   The Las Vegas shooter was not aiming at anyone in particular, but was just spraying the area, and with an inaccurate, "Bump Stock" weapon while the crowd quickly dispersed, creating more and more space between victims, making it increasingly impossible to hit anyone.   Ergo, the shooter HAD to be expending thousands and THOUSANDS of rounds, impossible for a single shooter, running from position to position.

Victim/witness accounts are that the firing was incessant!   Yet, we are told that the shooter (as described above) was taking several seconds to run from room to room and incessantly firing on the crowd.   Really?!   All the evidence (at least at this time) points in the opposite direction.

Plus, how does one, out-of-shape man carry the necessary thousands and thousands and THOUSANDS of rounds of very heavy ammunition and dozens of weapons into the hotel UNNOTICED AND ALL BY HIMSELF?   Not likely.  

We DO know that the shooter shot out the two windows in question from the inside, BUT we don't know if other hotel windows on lower floors were also shot out from the inside.   It is possible that they were, but it is also possible that any other broken windows could be the result of police returning fire and hitting other windows in the process.   Ergo, it would prove nothing at this point.   Yet, still, there are the multiple victim/witness accounts of multiple shooters firing from both windows in the shooter's suite AND a window on a lower floor -- at the same time.    

Alleged evidence is that the shooter planned to escape.   This is supported by the fact that he had set up surveillance to alert him of the arrival/approach of law enforcement.   IF the shooter planned to escape, why is it so improbable that any accomplices could not also escape?   IF the shooter planned to escape, he would have to take weapons with him, BUT he apparently had 20+ weapons in the suite.   How could he possibly escape while carrying 20+ weapons?   It is impossible.   I think he planned to die all along AND the presence of the many weapons was just to allow him to keep firing incessantly until finally killed by police.   However, it is also possible that, while HE planned to die, he also planned an escape route for any accomplices.   In other words, like Oswald in 1963, he may have been a "patsy", playing a part in a very carefully coordinated plan.   He had apparently made reservations at venues overseeing other scheduled events.   Ergo, is it not possible that he planned multiple attacks?   I don't think so.   I think he was just checking out all possible scenarios and Mandolay Bay was ultimately selected.   Since he probably planned to die anyway, what would he care if he never checked into the other reservations?   Plus, as stated above, he would have had to take weapons with him for the other selected venues.   Since he could not possibly transport multiple weapons out of the hotel while under assault by the police, I am convinced he planned to die at the scene.

At this point I am not convinced that the government (Federal, State, AND Local) are all lying in a carefully coordinated way.   I think the investigation is ongoing and they, too, are trying to answer the many questions.   They may well be withholding evidence and facts until they can sort them all out.   Law Enforcement often does that until they can pick up other "persons of interest".   Still, it IS possible that they are lying.   I give you the JFK Assassination.   The Warren Commission tried to tell us that what we saw in the Zapruder (sp?) film was false even though we CLEARLY saw the President shot from the front and his brains spewing out the back of his head.   Yet, the Warren Commission insisted that Oswald, shooting from behind, managed to shoot him from the front.   Really?!   We were told that what we saw was NOT what we saw.  

Suffice it to say, given what we know at this time, that this was a very carefully planned, coordinated, and executed attack.      

At this point I am forced to "trust" the authorities, but only to a point.   We have no other choice until more is learned.  

Yet, I still lean heavily towards multiple shooters.   I am just an old, retired cop.   All I can do is follow the evidence.   What say you?

Oren 

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Here is a Forensic Analysis of the shoots fired and it shows there were two shooters from different locations. This is the Science of the Physics and Ballistics of the shots. It is duplicable by anyone who chooses to do the math.

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