Accessories that helped Las Vegas shooter 'shoot like crazy'

Machine guns mounted on 12 semi-automatic rifles allowed Paddock to fire up to 600 rounds per minute.

Accessories that help shooters increase their firing speed.

Las Vegas police in Nevada, USA said today that Stephen Paddock, the gunman who opened fire at a music festival on the night of October 1, killing 59 people, had attached a device called a "machine gun stock" to 12 guns in his hotel room. This is an accessory that turns semi-automatic rifles into machine guns with a much higher rate of fire, according to AP.

The submachine gun was born nearly 10 years ago, with mThe original intent was to make it easier for people with disabilities to use guns, allowing semi-automatic rifles to empty a magazine with a single trigger pull.

This device replaces the gun's shoulder stock with a "support" that covers the trigger assembly.The shooter grasps the gun with his dominant hand, while his other hand pushes the barrel forward so that his index finger touches the trigger.

After firing, the recoil pushes the gun back and the spring in the machine gun's stock pushes the gun from back to front, causing the trigger to automatically press against the finger, allowing the gun to continue firing until it runs out of bullets. With this mechanism, the shooter can "shoot like crazy" with his semi-automatic rifle.

Technically, this device only supports the trigger pull of the shooter's finger after each shot and does not interfere with the gun's machine gun assembly. Therefore, despite firing at a rate of up to 600 rounds/minute thanks to the machine gun butt, the gun is still considered a semi-automatic weapon and is not prohibited under US law.The US government allowed the commercialization of submachine guns in 2010 after concluding that the devices did not violate federal law.

The 600 rounds per minute rate of fire that the machine gun gives a semi-automatic rifle is only slightly less than a military automatic rifle and much faster than an unmodified civilian rifle. The high rate of fire does not necessarily make the gun more dangerous, but it does allow the shooter to create a greater density of fire,cause more casualtiesin a short time.

The machine gun stock is mounted over the trigger assembly, taking advantage of the gun's recoil to increase the rate of fire. Photo: AP

There are currently no statistics on the number of submachine guns sold in the US market. However, the Abilene, Texas-based company has released several videos praising the features of submachine guns, notably a video of a man firing a series of 58 bullets in just 12 seconds to celebrate his 58th birthday.

The manufacturer advertises the accessory, which costs less than $200, as a simple, affordable way to own an automatic weapon without going through a background check or being affected by strict bans.

Ed Turner, a former police officer who owns a gun store in Stockbridge, Georgia, said people rushed to buy machine gun stocks after the massacre because they feared they would be banned. Now, stores are sold out of them, including wholesalers, something that hasn’t happened in 10 years.

Experts say that while the machine gun stock increases the rate of fire, the recoil reduces the gun's accuracy. However, this is not a significant issue for shooters who intend to cause mass killing or increase their lethality like Paddock.

The massacre has prompted US lawmakers to consider pushing for a ban on blasphemies. Sen.Democratic PartyDiane Feinstein said the device could allow the gun to fire 400-800 rounds per minute and cause a"absolute massacre".

According to VNE