Las Vegas Shooting

[Magpie]

Most people who ride bikes leave the helmet with the bike. Even if you don’t you’d take it off right before walking into a dim casino. That really should have been a huge, red flag. As a clerk in just a regular store anyone walking in wearing a helmet or a jacket when it’s not remotely cold outside made me extremely nervous.

I was at a reunion gathering in a pub in downtown Toronto last month. One of the other attendees walked in, in full bike gear, pulled off his helmet and jacket and stuck them under the table. No one blinked an eye. A little later he excused himself and changed into shorts, because it was really warm in there.

Now, you're right, if he'd been walking around the dimly lit bar with the helmet still on, and no apparent intention of taking it off, that would have seemed odd. But just wearing it in? No big deal.

 

[Magpie]

I agree with everything you wrote accept for this:

He was well organized to act on an impulse. A ricochet or something would be more believable. But, just speculating, that's all.

I didn't know him personally, so I can't say what he would or wouldn't have done. But one person's "impulse" move is another person's "observing, adapting and implementing" a modification to a strategy. Thinking on your feet. Etc.

 

[cabanafrau]

I listened to audio of someone who has there and she was talking about the different sounds she was hearing, and that the police officer she was with radioed in that they had "multiple shooters". This was all during the chaos of her and her husband trying to get out of there and make it to safety.
At that point, police had no idea whether it was one or more shooters, so him saying that doesn't mean anything.
I also think acoustics can play tricks on your ears, and when you are in a situation like that you aren't thinking rationally and clearly about what is happening, you are thinking about getting the hell out of there.

I really hate how those in the media roll with these conspiracies. I don't want to pay attention to anything they say, but I do want to know what is going on and they are the public's only choice.

Jurors are given an instruction about judging the credibility of witnesses who testify in a trial. Part of the instruction informs them that witnesses may testify completely truthfully about what they saw and heard, yet multiple witnesses may testify with completely different yet honest perspectives about the same events.

How much of what people heard involved the sounds of gunfire echoing around the area or the spaces the witnesses were standing in? How much of what people heard changed as the guns were likely swiveled back and forth atop the tripods in a sickening attempt to sweep the concert crowd? How much of what people heard was impacted by the gunman firing different weapons out of two different windows with slightly different angles? I don't know the answers to any of those questions, but my rudimentary grasp of physics and some common sense tell me there were enough variables present to enable an ear witness to hear differing sounds emanating from one sickeningly prolific shooter.

 

[wenrob]

My husband owns several bikes we ride all the time. You're right I do leave the helmet on the bike but if I saw someone else with a helmet on I really don't think I would pay any attention or suspect anything.

Would you in a bank setting? Walking into a casino is like walking into a huge bank. I’ve just always felt it’s something the “eye in the sky” and security should have picked up on.

 

[nd5056]

...
When have we ever had a mass shooter who used 20 different guns, particularly in different ammo types? Typically, they have one or two and loads of ammo.

From what I understand, rapid & continues machine gun firing does overheat the gun barrel. It would render the gun useless. That’s why he had multiple firearms laying around; most likely he was switching them frequently.

 

[bcla]

I was at a reunion gathering in a pub in downtown Toronto last month. One of the other attendees walked in, in full bike gear, pulled off his helmet and jacket and stuck them under the table. No one blinked an eye. A little later he excused himself and changed into shorts, because it was really warm in there.

Now, you're right, if he'd been walking around the dimly lit bar with the helmet still on, and no apparent intention of taking it off, that would have seemed odd. But just wearing it in? No big deal.

It was interesting at the time. And looking at the video, I'm thinking that modern HD security video looks much clearer. This looks like they're still using VHS back in 2010. These days they're using HD video saved directly to networked data drives. They can pull up info immediately while it's still recording, just like I can pause or review my DVR. In the past they would need to stop the recording or send it to another recorder and then rewind.

 

[msjprincess]

Would you in a bank setting? Walking into a casino is like walking into a huge bank. I’ve just always felt it’s something the “eye in the sky” and security should have picked up on.

Nope, probably not. I might quickly think that's odd, but I woudn't assume they were there to rob the casino.

 

[cabanafrau]

Would you in a bank setting? Walking into a casino is like walking into a huge bank. I’ve just always felt it’s something the “eye in the sky” and security should have picked up on.

Don't you think that since that incident entry security personnel are now trained to immediately make contact with anyone who comes in wearing their helmet now? I'm certain that's covered on day one of their training since that day.

 

[wenrob]

I was at a reunion gathering in a pub in downtown Toronto last month. One of the other attendees walked in, in full bike gear, pulled off his helmet and jacket and stuck them under the table. No one blinked an eye. A little later he excused himself and changed into shorts, because it was really warm in there.

Now, you're right, if he'd been walking around the dimly lit bar with the helmet still on, and no apparent intention of taking it off, that would have seemed odd. But just wearing it in? No big deal.

I suppose it’s the cynical city girl in me.

 

[wenrob]

Don't you think that since that incident entry security personnel are now trained to immediately make contact with anyone who comes in wearing their helmet now? I'm certain that's covered on day one of their training since that day.

I’m sure they were.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Ever saw Full Metal Jacket? They show a M14s being assembled several times. One character being able to break down and reassemble his rifle quickly is a turning point in the movie that he's becoming a competent Marine.

And since Vegas is mentioned, there's Jack Black in Mars Attacks!.

However, from the leaked photo, I think that at least that weapon could have easily been placed in a standard airline-sized check-in with the butt removed. Even someone without weapons training should be able to take the butt off and put it back on.

Oh yes I did see that! And if memory serves me right it was one of the few things that D'Onofrio could do right from a military POV.
Unfortunately, the scenes that really stood out for me was the "boom boom mama-san" sniper; marching whilst singing a Mickey Mouse song and celebrating the birthday of a soldier's new best friend.

I don't remember Jack Black assembling a gun in Mars Attacks! either, LOL.

 

[bcla]

From what I understand, rapid & continues machine gun firing does overheat the gun barrel. It would render the gun useless. That’s why he had multiple firearms laying around; most likely he was switching them frequently.

Possibly. However, they are air cooled. The leaked photo showed that at least one had cooling fins.

 

[cabanafrau]

Yes, there was a veteran on the 29th floor who reports all the shooting from one locale, and that he could tell when the guy changed weapons.

As for the mass purchase of firearms causing a red flag, I doubt even if anyone had noticed that it would point to something like this. When have we ever had a mass shooter who used 20 different guns, particularly in different ammo types? Typically, they have one or two and loads of ammo.

A veteran is potentially a unique witness with some solid experience to back up their opinion about where gunfire originated.

 

[bcla]

Oh yes I did see that! And if memory serves me right it was one of the few things that D'Onofrio could do right from a military POV.
Unfortunately, the scenes that really stood out for me was the "boom boom mama-san" sniper; marching whilst singing a Mickey Mouse song and celebrating the birthday of a soldier's new best friend.

I don't remember Jack Black assembling a gun in Mars Attacks! either, LOL.

Hardly recognizable today.

 

[mummabear]

It wasn't about airline regulations. Kinder Eggs have been banned in the US since 1938 because they are said to be a choking hazard for kids.

The Kinder Surprise, which is manufactured by an Italian company called Ferrero, has been banned in this country since 1938. That’s when the Food and Drug Administration passed the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, which prohibits any “non-nutritive component” (for example, a toy) from being embedded in a confectionary product, as the Foodbeast reported. Kinder Surprise Eggs aren’t safe for kids under 3 years old, a clear violation of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission requirement, which states that candy-with-ensconced-toys must be safe for kids of all ages.

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/business/2013/03/toy-filled-chocolate-eggs-legal-in-us/

So apparently world wide in the nearly 50 years they have been around only 4 children have choked on the toys inside Kinder Suprise.

Why would they?

I guess not in the US but here no one would enter any sort of public building with their motorcycle helmet on, and as such the habit would be to take it off before going anywhere else either.
On or next to the entrances are the rules which are typically No smoking,
No motorcycle helmets, No skateboarding, No gang patches, No hoodies
And at banks No sunglasses.
This would be the same at banks, malls, the library etc

 

[NYCgrrl]

I suppose it’s the cynical city girl in me.

Still an episode of Luther with the twin brothers playing dice opened my eyes to possibilities of helmets in office settings. Shudder.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I can't find it now but a pp mentioned that the gunman had booked a hotel in Chicago overlooking the Lallapalooza events (which Malia Obama attended last year). ABC News is also reporting that he searched for hotels near Fenway Park in Boston, as well. Boston authorities are looking into it.

If I were looking for a pattern, it seems to me he wanted to ruin it [badly] for people who were out having fun. (Yeah, it's a stretch, but maybe he didn't have any fun as a child seeing his Dad was a notorious criminal from I believe around the time he was 8 years old.)

I hope we don't see copycat crimes.

 

[wenrob]

Still an episode of Luther with the twin brothers playing dice opened my eyes to possibilities of helmets in office settings. Shudder.

I’ve not seen that. It sounds like I don’t want to.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Hardly recognizable today.

Complaining about 6 day old doughnuts but eating them anyway, a pissing contest taking place at the dinette table and Sylvia Sidney rolling her eyes; all good for a great slice of Americana! .

 

[wenrob]

I can't find it now but a pp mentioned that the gunman had booked a hotel in Chicago overlooking the Lallapalooza events (which Malia Obama attended last year). ABC News is also reporting that he searched for hotels near Fenway Park in Boston, as well. Boston authorities are looking into it.

If I were looking for a pattern, it seems to me he wanted to ruin it [badly] for people who were out having fun. (Yeah, it's a stretch, but maybe he didn't have any fun as a child seeing his Dad was a notorious criminal from I believe around the time he was 8 years old.)

I hope we don't see copycat crimes.

Well, do as much damage as he possibly could in a short amount of time. So not really what the people were doing but the amount of people crammed into one space. I said to my daughter how if this had been a Pop Punk event she and her friends would have likely been there and she said, “honestly Mama, there wouldn’t have been enough people there to make it a target.”