Five Minutes

New information was released about the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary school that, rather than providing some comfort, leaves me even more upset than before. No, upset isn’t the right word. Confused. Impotent. Helpless. Empty. Those are more accurate.

Here’s what we learned: The whole incident took place, from first to last bullet, in less than five minutes. And the shooter expended 152 rounds, 152 bullets, during that very, very short window of time.

How do you shoot 152 rounds in less than five minutes? With a Bushmaster AR 15 assault rifle and five thirty round clips. Let me break it down. He started with one clip in the rifle, plus one bullet in the chamber. That’s 31 rounds. He dropped that, added the next clip. Now we’re at 61. Dropped the second, inserted the third. That makes 91. Dropped that, inserted the fourth. 121. Dropped that, inserted the fifth and that makes 151.

151 bullets sprayed across an elementary school killing twenty-six people. Twenty children.

But wait, what about bullet 152? Where did that come in? He was out of magazines for the Bushmaster at that point, so he abandoned that weapon and picked up the pistol he had strapped to his hip. With that, he shot one bullet into his head, thus ending the ordeal.

Five minutes. 152 bullets. Twenty-six dead people. Twenty dead children.

Now, someone please explain to me why anyone needs a gun that shoots thirty rounds at a time, because I can’t for the life of me come up with a good enough reason.

Rachel Maddow explains all this with a great deal more eloquence than I’ve managed here. If you’d like to hear her breakdown, go HERE.