Aaron Alexis tried to buy assault rifle but was rebuffed

[ShooterInPA1]

Washington Navy Yard gunman Aaron Alexis tried to buy an AR-15 assault rifle at a Virginia gun store last week after test firing one, but the story wouldn't sell it to him, CBS News has learned.

The reason for the refusal isn't clear.

Alexis then purchased a shotgun he used in his rampage, sources tell CBS News.

Twelve people died before Alexis was shot and killed by police.

CBS News correspondent Bob Orr reports that, while law enforcement officials haven't pinned down a motive for the massacre, Alexis was clearly a troubled man with a history of angry outbursts.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_1...-was-rebuffed/

[Silence Dogood]

Of course the AR-15 is NOT an assault rifle.

VA classifies semi-auto rifles capable of > 20 rounds as 'assault firearms' and it's illegal to transfer one in VA to an out-of-state resident.

[bogey1]

I find it hard to believe he did all that with a shotgun and pistol. Where are the other two?

[Shodan]

I find it hard to believe he did all that with a shotgun and pistol. Where are the other two?

I surely don't have any details of the shootings, but what's so hard to believe? How hard would it be to shoot 12 people sitting at desks or standing around the coffee maker with those weapons?

[bogey1]

I surely don't have any details of the shootings, but what's so hard to believe? How hard would it be to shoot 12 people sitting at desks or standing around the coffee maker with those weapons?

After the first two or three people down, i would suspect the others would flee the area? These shootings never make sense. Oh, and another DHS active shooter drill scheduled a block away from the navy yard two days after the shooting? Just doesn't add up.

[JenniferG]

A 12 gauge shotgun firing buckshot at ranges out to 25 yards is exactly what the gun specializes in. During WW I they called them trench guns and could clear a whole trench full of soldiers in only a few shots. The German were so concerned about these weapons they issued orders that anyone captured carrying one of these weapons were to be summarily executed. That was the 1897 Winchester pump shot gun. It is a devastating weapon.

[Silence Dogood]

And so the media 'does it again'

[Shodan]

After the first two or three people down, i would suspect the others would flee the area? These shootings never make sense. Oh, and another DHS active shooter drill scheduled a block away from the navy yard two days after the shooting? Just doesn't add up.

I think you overestimate most people's SA and ability to think clearly under stress.

I imagine in a large facility like the Navy Yard a single hallway of offices would contain way more than 12 people. Even a person of my modest shooting skills could probably accomplish walking down a hallway and shooting 12 people as they sit at their desks or exit their office trying to escape.

Again, who knows the logistics of how the shootings went down but I don't think it would be difficult to achieve what he did.

Am I messed up for running this scenario through in my head?

[DK23]

I saw the news on CBS in Philly last night and they had a computer generated reenactment of the event. Showed Alexis on a 4th floor balcony shooting down on a cafeteria full of people eating and getting coffee then running around until he finally encountered a police officer and park ranger who shot him. Not sure how accurate that is, but it would explain how he killed 12 people so quickly.

[daschnoz]

And so the media 'does it again'

Look at the news broadcaster's text again....

"Wielding a deranged MAN, a GUN killed 12 people today..."

If you ask me, he is making OUR point - guns don't kill, people kill people. Guns are nothing more than stupid tools.


One other thing that continues to baffle me - he killed 12 before POLICE killed him. How would events have played out if someone in the office was allowed to carry?