Church gunman killed himself, after heroine scored multiple hits

Yeah, I had the same thought. So many reported seeing an "assault rifle" that I'm wondering if it wasn't a magazine fed Saiga shotgun. Similar looking & would explain the discrepancies.

One of the victims was mentioned as having had a piece of buckshot in his hand; maybe the guy had an automatically-fed shotgun (like a Benelli). I'm also wondering if someone did that math wrong; I could believe that he had 100 shells, but 1000 rounds of ammo and the magazines to carry them is a lot. Unless he's a pretty big dude, three guns plus armor plus a backpack full of ammunition strains credulity.

Why expect the media (with assistance from law enforcement) to EVER get a gun story right?

Well, maybe he left the ammo in a car or something.

You guys don't read the news. ANY "high powered sniper assault weapon" fires 600 bullets per minute. He only had ammo for 90 seconds. /sarcasm
She did a good job. For what its worth I am glad she didn't kill him, some people feel guilty about those things. I hope she gets the best of both worlds, saving good guys and no guilt for killing the evil ones.

"Unless he's a pretty big dude, three guns plus armor plus a backpack full of ammunition strains credulity."

I did it (well, not 3 guns, but I did have an M16 and an AG bag with tripod) when I was (briefly) with the infantry. (I'm Cav, FWIW.)

You can certainly move with 60 pounds of gear, I've that too. Our standard is a 50 pound rucksack + IBA and ACH, 12 miles in 4 hours.

"ANY "high powered sniper assault weapon" fires 600 bullets per minute."

Uh, the AK47 *does* fire 600 rounds per minute. The M16 has an even higher cyclic rate.

So, okay, that's cyclic rate and you don't actually fire that fast... The standard combat load is 7 30 round magazines, but that's the bare bones minimum for one guy out of a platoon. Given that this guy was doing it all himself and not likely to worry about being excessive, 1000 rounds doesn't seem all that unrealistic.

I'm wondering if that was a type-o and it was supposed to read "a self-inflicted gun shot wound" instead of "a self-inflicted shotgun wound".

I would have to witness the autopsy to believe he killed himself. This is just too politically correct in denying the effectiveness of an armed citizen, for me to not have doubts as to its veracity.

She was not fired, she received a 24 hour suspension for swearing at or in front of a bus driver. Another reason I don't necessarily believe the now official story over the original story told by the participants and on the scene witnesses. Just seems too convenient as a way to minimize Ms. Assam's contribution to the benefit of her fellow parishoners, thus tarnishing what is a shining example of self reliance and defense of others by an "ordinary" citizen.

I mean, Hell, she didn't do anything right. She didn't set up a perimeter, she didn't take cover outside while assessing the situation for cessation of gunshots or any of the other actions the professionals would have taken. We know this because they have done so in the past not too far from this shooting, did so at VT, it is SOP and she didn't do any of that. All she did was stop the killing of innocent people.

The police can't stand the comparison, the state can't stand the general realization by the average citizen that self reliance is better for personal security and liberty (it lessens their perceived power), the media can't spin it to coincide with their agenda. No wonder her detractors on stepping on each other to demean her and her heroism.

To quote from Tolkien, I think (possibly others before him) "Oft evil will, evil mars"...The guy wanted to have so much ammo to use slaughtering the innocent, he overburdened or at least hampered himself and it probably worked to his disadvantage, thank God.

Other local accounts say there were two other armed volunteer parishioners, males, who had also drawn guns and gone to the attacker but weren't firing, while Ms. Assam engaged him, demanded he surrender, and exchanged rounds with Murray until he went down.

I also agree it's better that she stopped him and he killed himself, rather than she bear the knowledge that she killed a man in church.

Whether she swore at a bus driver or not (how many of us would have done that at some time?) she's a hero, and if I ever run into her I'll buy her a round of her choice of beverage.

I'm not sure I see where his killing himself is denying the effectiveness of an armed citizen although I'm sure the press would like it that way. These nuts usually go to suicide when they are confronted. Ms Assam's actions stopped the murder's killing and forced him into the suicide phase.

Whether she subdued, killed or prompted his suicide is not the issue. The heroics are that she was willing, able, and armed to engage the murder and stop his killing.

That in fact may be the real lesson here: the willingness of an armed citizen to engage these killers might be more important that the citizen's combat effectiveness in facilitating the end of the killer's murders. These murders like "gun free zones" because they can slaughter defenseless shoppers and students with impunity for quite some time before being confronted by an armed defender.

>>That in fact may be the real lesson here: the willingness of an armed citizen to engage these killers might be more important that the citizen's combat effectiveness in facilitating the end of the killer's murders.

Amen!

And the other lesson is that the press will systematically go to any length to deny, disparage and minimize the benefits of citizens armed and acting on their own authority and responsibility.