What type of guns were ACTUALLY used in the Newtown massacre?

There was a Bushmaster involved, but NBC over-reported the number of handguns used; it was only 2, not 4 as was claimed. Read the update on your link.

From the bottom of the page linked in the question:

“Editor’s note: Connecticut State Police have confirmed that Adam Lanza did, in fact, use a Bushmaster .223 high capacity rifle and two hand guns. As far as we can tell, NBC has not issued a retraction.”

That said, people will always choose whatever “truth” makes them feel better, so there are probably some people insisting that Adam Lanza was gay/Liberal/Muslim as “proof” that a group they already hate is evil.

Thanks, @rojo, confirms that we need to ban handguns too. The only thing people hunt with handguns is other people.

Well! I certainly feel better about all those dead kids, now!

We need a PALT. Personal Arms Limitation Treaty. We need an immediate beginning for PALT talks.

@burntbonez If only.

I don’t think the government is lying. I think that news agencies are under pressure to be the first to report a story. They’ll report first and confirm facts later. Another example: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/29/jon-stewart-cnn-fox-news-supreme-court-video_n_1637272.html

He used one rifle and two handguns. He did not use an AR-15, like people are claiming.

Two really nice 9mm pistols, A 9mm Sig is a thing of beauty, the Glock is an exercise in modern design that has been copied by just about every manufacturer. I am unclear why the emphasis on ‘Bushmaster’. They used to be a top notch version of the AR-15 before they were aquired by Remington and all the good people jumped ship. Still, a fine weapon. Still, in a close environment such as in a school, The Bushy would not have been a good choice. First, the shooter would be deaf by the third round, and Adam was a little guy who might not have been as good a shot with it, given the buffered, but still significant recoil. Pistol would have been the better choice. Then,the ballistics of 5.56 vs. 9mm heavily favor the pistol. Shooting into a room full of scurrying targets would be difficult without lots and lots of practice, I am still suspicious about a second or third shooter that may have had more experience than Lanza, assuming the long arm was used. I would like to see more evidence before I endorse what happened. Then there are the Conspiracists, who may or may not have credible evidence.

Judging by some of the answers here, I already see many ignoring the OP and using this thread as another “BAN ALL THE GUNS!!!” thread. I’m not sure I want any part of that….

@phaedryx Entirely correct.

@WillWorkForChocolate I am inclined to believe the CT State Police’s official statement., though just because he had it on him, that doesn’t mean that he actually used it. In fact, I am inclined to believe not for reasons that @majorrich details.

The Glock 10mm was used by the Secret service for a short time before the much(!) tamer 40mm came out. It is a recoil beast. Prone to KB because of the power of the cartridge. So, he basically had one weapon that was easy to aquire and neutralize targets with.

I live not far from Newtown and was in Danbury today at a coffee shop reading the local paper. The CT state police spokesman (the big guy who did all the press conferences, forgot his name) said, again, that all of the children were killed with an asssault weapon and Adam Lanza only used the handgun to kill himself.

one reason I doubt the 5.56 solution would be over-penetration. It is a small caliber high velocity 22 caliber. The most commonly used m193 is a real problem ithe Middle East because projectiles pass harmlessly through skinny people leaving a small wound cavity unless they hit a bone, requiring as much as 18 inches of tissue before expanding. That is why so many of my mates are using m-11 .308 variants of the m-16. Small targets such as in Sandy Hook would be quite similar. I’m trying really hard to avoid bring the human element into my input so as not inflame too much anti-gunnery.

@majorrich I would think that a longarm of any kind would have issues in any short-range engagement anyways. Hip-shooting them is inaccurate, and firing from the shoulder makes it harder to switch targets quickly than it would be with a handgun.

Then again, that is coming from somebody who knows a bit more about guns and shooting than the average citizen :/

That’s exactly my point. We have that in common. We used HK’s for CQB. Lanza’s mom couldn’t get one. Much quieter and a better sight for moving targets. My point is given what we are told, Only one weapon was suitable for the purpose intended. How could he score so many hits with the limited training we are told he had? With an M4 profile weapon? Doesn’t smell right unless he had a butt load of ammunition.