CNN posted a column Tuesday night which cited a mass shooting, that did not happen, in an effort to make a case against machine gun fire, which may not exist.

The CNN effort focuses on “auto switches, which turn semiautomatic pistols into full-auto firearms.” The switches are illegal, but CNN points out “the devices appear to be an emerging commodity on the black market.”

CNN goes on to claim that full-auto fire is a growing problem and one that increasing seen in major crimes.

As an example, they point to “a mass shooting in Sacramento, California, in which six people were killed and a dozen injured.” The problem with this example is that it was not a mass shooting.

Rather, it was a shootout.

Photo taken on April 3, 2022 shows the site of a shooting in Sacramento, California, the United States. Six people were killed and at least nine others were wounded in downtown Sacramento, the capital city of the U.S. state of California, local police said Sunday. (Li Jianguo/Xinhua via Getty)

The Sacramento shooting occurred on April 3, 2022, and establishment media outlets quickly labeled it a mass shooting. But on April 6, 2022, Breitbart News noted the Los Angeles Times admitted the Sacramento shooting was likely an exchange of gunfire between gang or street crime rivals rather than a “mass shooting.”

US Magazine reported that pop duo Aly and AJ said their tour bus was caught in the crossfire during the Sacramento shooting. Crossfire is not indicative of a “mass shooting” but it is a characteristic of a shootout.

So CNN references a mass shooting that did not occur.

Moreover, they point to ShotSpotter technologies as a way that full-auto fire is detected. ShotSpotter “has contracts with about 130 cities in which it installs acoustic sensors in designated areas to listen for gunfire.”

 

The problem with CNN citing them to prove full-auto fire is that ShotSpotter does not necessarily detect full-auto fire. Rather they focus on detecting the presents of gun shots, period.

CNN even noted that ShotSpotter indicates its designation of an incident as “full auto” is for a police department’s “situational awareness” only and is not guaranteed in the same manner as its primary mission of accurately identifying and locating outdoor gunfire.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. Reach him at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.