I have very little personal experience with the AR-15 platform, but what I do know is that a shooter with any level of proficiency can drop an empty mag out and have a fresh one inserted before the empty hits the floor.
Had the Aurora shooter been equipped with "assault weapon ban" compliant 10 round mags, the outcome of this tragedy would have been the same. Remember that he had multiple weapons on his person, as well as the element of surprise on his side and a panicked and helpless crowd.
There is also a school of thought that the aftermarket 100 round drum magazine he used may have actually saved lives since these mags are notorious for jamming and causing the weapon to overheat and become unfireable. The rifle was never intended to be used with such a magazine.
My personal theory (and thats all it is at this point) is that he gave up because (a) his weapon malfunctioned and (b) firing multiple rounds from such a rifle indoors without hearing protection will quite literally rupture a persons eardrums and cause them to become disoriented from the concussion and muzzle blast.
Looks like I hit a nerve, so lets go from there.
I agree that something stopped the shooter from creating more deaths, but I attribute that to his faulty use of the gas canisters and his gas mask. IF he did not securely affix the mask to his own face, and by that I mean, pretest for leaks...(something a total amatuer would do) then its quite possible that his own gas incapacitated him and he could no longer breathe or see clearly.
The jam was the biggest factor in the shooting, as in his planning, he must have believed that with all that armor and that AR15 with all those rounds, he could battle it out, but once the AR jammed, he discarded it on the floor going to his secondary weapons.
Once the gas started affecting his own person, his ability to fight was weakened, and he walked out like the little Bitch that HE was. A BIG man walked in with several guns and a little coward walked out rubbing his eyes.
This would explain why he did not confront the police, as he was unable to and his primary weapon was still on the ground inside the theatre.
If he could have seen clearly, and his AR15 was still operating, he probably would have continued to shoot at the police. Upon conclusion of the investigation, we will have some ideas how many shots he actually fired and from what weapons.
Additionally, I agree with the point that the sound may have also affected his ability to concentrate.
Further, without him having been trained with the AR, its quite possible that he was just overwhelmed with the power and functionality of the rifle and he then panicked.
My real issue is HOW did and WHY would this country allow ANYBODY to buy that many guns and ammo in such a short period of time and NOT one RED FLAG been raised.
Why is it always after a person legally buys guns and commits crimes do any of you call them KOOKS??
At what point did they become KOOKS?
If gun owners become KOOKS at some point after they buy the guns, why cant we assume all gun owners will become KOOKS? The majority of gun deaths are a result of domestic violence and that shows us how easy it is for a gun owner to become a KOOK.
Weak Emotions and GUNs do not mix. Weak Emotions, drugs and/or alcohol also do not mix. Weak Emotions, drugs, Alcohol and GUNS are deadly.
But how do we figure this out before a guy like this shooter walk into a gun shop and buy enough weapons to kill hundreds?
Peace
TOS
