What type of Rifle did the Nebraska Mall shooter use to commit his aweful deed, was it an assault rifle?

Answer 1

He used an SKS rifle. Originally designed by Russia, it has been license built elsewhere. Many on the U.S. market are imported from China and sold as hunting rifles.

They keep reporting it as an "assault rifle". The SKS was designed at the same time as the AK-47 (which is an assualt rifle) and takes the same ammo, but when Russia decided that assault rifles were the way to go, they phased out the SKS in favor of the AK-47.

The SKS probably has more in common with an M1 Garrand. It fires a 10 round "stripper" clip. Models sold in Canada are often modified to only take a 5 round clip (due to laws there, if you go above 5 it is classed differently). It is possible, however, to modify the SKS to take a more conventional (after market) clip of higher capacity. Perhaps with after market modifications, it can be "brought up" to something that approximates an assault rifle?

The media has been referring to it as an assault rifle, however, I think that's pushing the term a bit. It is an automatic rifle.

Answer 2

It was an SKS, not an AK-47. It's not an assault rifle. It's in a wooden stock with no conspicuous pistol grip.

Wikipedia picture of the rifle used here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Norinco_SKS.jpg

It was a rifle he stole from his stepfather. The reason he did that is because his parents kicked him out of their home for behavioral reasons. I'm not sure on the exact reason, but to kick your own son out there has to be something serious. It didn't help that he always went around in camoflauge, and kept his head shaved close. In his suicide note, he said he did it so that he could be famous. We're paying too much attention to these troubled kids, who are getting far too much attention on the news and on the internet, and other kids who want attention, even negative attention, are using extreme acts of violence as a last resort way of getting it.

Wait, so if a semi-auto with a magazine is automaticly an assualt rifle, what about something like the Browning Bar, or the A-5? Does that make a Ruger 10/22 an assault rifle? That also would leave out the big bolt actions with a pistol grip and a muzzle break, which were banned by the AWB as assault rifles.

Answer 3

I'm Sorry that people don't have a clue about these types of shootings.
It wouldn't have mattered what type of weapon he was using inside a 'fish barrel' like a mall.
Here the clown had hundreds of people 'trapped' and defenseless, mainly due to socialistic 'feel good' laws preventing people from carrying the means to protect themselves from loonytunes such as these, and ALL he came up with was 9 or 10 Dead?
I could have done twice the damage with a revolver, but that doesn't play well with the Press. They want to play up the 'Assault Rifle' story....Assault...What a frigggen joke...Like Sissy Frisco on the Bay banning 'Assault bats'...

Had a citizen with a concealed carry weapon been in the area, mister Misunderstood Teenager would have gotten far less victims.
Tulsa Oklahoma, guy standing in line to buy groceries hears some clown yell, "This is a hold up"...citizen pulls his concealed carry weapon and pops the genius with a round, stopping the threat to the public and the store.

Too bad the citizen wasn't allowed to carry an 'Assault Rifle' because he could have also ruined the whole day for the bandits friends in the getaway car....

Or when the stooges try a drive by shooting, citizens unload on the vehicle from both sides of the street with 'Assault Rifles' and the vehicle and passengers are removed by a tow truck AND no more drive by shootings from 'hoodies' from da hood...but that would mean taking a stand...

Answer 4

WRAITH - PHA - If an SKS is classified as an "assault rifle" by the Omaha lagislature, then they have changed the definition of the word to make a semi automatic, obsolete weapon sound scary to the uninformed public.

The term assault rifle was coined by the Germans in WW2 to describe the Sturmgewher 44 which the Russian AK-47 was directly copied from. The salient points that make an assault rifle are that is is shorter than a full size rifle for ease of use and portability, it uses an intermediate cartridge for mid-range effectiveness but not to overwelm the shooter in fully automatic fire. Most importantly, it has a selectable fire ability. It can fire semi-auto (one bullet per squeeze of the trigger like a conventional rifle) or full auto (will fire continuousely while the trigger is depressed like a machine gun.)

The SKS IS NOT an assault rifle by ANYONES reasonable definition OR by the definition of those who coined the term and the first implement.

Answer 5

Judging from the answers here, it seems:

It was NOT an assault rifle. That's true no matter what. True assault rifles are select fire.

But one of the following is true:

It was NOT an "assault weapon" (as defined by the law that used to exist). For it to be an "assault weapon", it has to have a detachable magazine. SKS rifles, as they were made, do not have that.

Or...

Someone said he had 30rnd mags for it, so it may have been converted into an assault weapon by making it accept detachable magazines (and then adding a pistol grip and such).

One of the two. I'm thinking you're probably anti-gun. So no, the "assault weapons" ban wouldn't have done anything about it because it was either not one or it was bought and then converted into one (which you can't stop).

Answer 6

An SKS isn't an "attack Rifle". The SKS is a semi-vehicle merely rifle, one shot in line with set off pull. The media labels something an "attack Rifle" as a scare tactic for the stupid hundreds who dont understand ****. a real "attack Rifle" is a go with hearth rifle able to completely computerized hearth, meaning continuous hearth mutually as set off is pulled.

Answer 7

i didnt even hear about this on the news. damn this guy musta been a poor shot!!!! 10 people dead? wtf. i would have figured that the people in nebraska would all carry, wheres the guy shopping packing a .45 ACP? would have put that kid down in a heart beat. i feel bad for this country, its going downhill in a hurry because of these hippy liberal democrats. the same thing has happened in England, where it is illegal to own a gun. so all of the honest people cant have a gun, but the criminals have guns ( why? because they are CRIMINALS! ) . no self defense for your average person. i dont think this country can stand any more democrats in office. i know the republicans arent doing the best jobs, but they are doing a far better job than ANY democrats EVER will.

thanks for your time

Answer 8

All competent reports I've seen say it was an SKS. It is by NO means an assault rifle since it has no full auto capability. And while the SKS bears a vague resemblance to the AK-47 (If you only give it a casual glance) it is a completely different machine. The only thing they share is the cartridge.

Hmmm. Wonder who the two idiots are?

Answer 9

No, it was not an "assault rifle".

It was simply a semi-automatic carbine.

Answer 10

theres no such thing as an assault rifle. assault is an action, not a device.