Rachel Maddow: Newtown shooter only reloaded 4 times, so AR-15s should be banned

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow said new information about the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., proves that a ban on assault-type weapons, including AR-15s, is necessary.

She said during her Thursday evening broadcast that Adam Lanza fired 152 bullets in less than five minutes. That couldn’t have happened if he didn’t have a semiautomatic weapon, she said.

Her line of logic: With less ammunition, he wouldn’t have been able to kill all 20 children and six adults that day. He reloaded four times — but she said he would have had to reload more times with a different weapon.

“Had he only had access to 10-round magazines instead of 30-round magazines, he would’ve had to reload 14 times,” Miss Maddow said. “He would’ve needed 14 spare magazines beyond the one in the gun with the extra round in the chamber. Reloading 14 times. You think he would’ve still pulled off the whole thing in less than five minutes?”

Lanza used a .223-caliber Bushmaster rifle to kill most of his victims before killing himself with a handgun.

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