Republican leader suggests there may be no available solutions to stop mass shootings

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The top Republican in the Senate has suggested there may be no legislative solution to mass shootings in the wake of the Las Vegas massacre.

“The investigation has not even been completed,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. “And I think it’s premature to be discussing legislative solutions, if there are any.”

Over the past couple of days, top Republicans have brushed off attempts by Democrats to discuss gun policy, as various government agencies investigate what led a gunman to open fire from a Las Vegas hotel room into a crowd of some 22,000 concert-goers.

The attack killed at least 58 people and left more than 500 injured, making it the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history.

“I think it’s particularly inappropriate to politicise an event like this that just happened in the last day and a half,” Mr McConnell told reporters at a news conference.

On Sunday night, throngs of people screamed in horror and cowered on the open ground as extended bursts of gunfire strafed the crowd from above.

According to officials, gunman Stephen Paddock had two accessories that could have allowed his semi-automatic rifles to fire rapidly and continuously, as if they were fully automatic weapons.

Though they are legal and widely available, the so-called “bump stocks” have attracted scrutiny from government authorities and members of Congress in recent years.

Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein, who has long expressed concern about the availability of such devices, said Mr Paddock modified at least one of his weapons with a bump stock accessory. She did not elaborate further.

“Individuals are able to purchase bump fire stocks for less than $200 and easily convert a semi-automatic weapon into a firearm that can shoot between 400 and 800 rounds per minute and inflict absolute carnage,” Ms Feinstein said, also calling for a ban on their sale.

A semi-automatic weapon requires one trigger pull for each round fired. With a fully automatic firearm, one trigger pull can unleash continuous rounds of ammunition until the magazine is empty. The bump-stock devices work by manipulating the trigger mechanism extremely rapidly, far faster than a person could do so without them.

Authorities found two bump stocks in Mr Paddock’s hotel room, said two officials familiar with the investigation.

When asked during a news conference if bump stocks should be legal, Mr McConnell repeated that it would be premature to discuss policy since the investigation into the shooting has not finished.

In an earlier news conference, Republican leaders in the House of Representatives called for unity and prayer after the Las Vegas massacre and said a bill to ease regulations on gun silencers would be shelved for the time being.

No new legislation to tighten gun laws was offered.

“We are all reeling from this horror in Las Vegas,” Speaker Paul Ryan said at a news conference. “This is just awful.”

Mr Ryan said there are no plans for the House to act quickly on a bill to ease regulations on gun silencers. Last month, a House committee had backed the bill, which has been endorsed by the National Rifle Association, the US’s most influential gun-rights lobbying group.

The bill is “not scheduled right now. I don’t know when it will be scheduled,” Mr Ryan said.

Speaking on the Senate floor, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer warned that the silencer bill could have deadly consequences.

“One of the few ways the police had to go after this shooter was they could look for the sound, try to hear the sound of where the guns came from,” Mr Schumer said. “Thank God our colleagues on the other side of the aisle have pulled back on this bill.”

On Monday, Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, a strong advocate for gun control, said it was “time for Congress to get off its ass and do something”, while House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi asked Mr Ryan to create a select committee on gun violence to recommend legislation.

However, despite calls by Democrats for a legislative solution to gun violence, congressional action on the issue is not expected. Other recent mass shootings in Colorado, Connecticut and Florida all failed to unite Congress on any legislative response.

A bipartisan bill regarding background checks failed four years ago. Since then, Republicans have often pointed to mental health legislation when asked about the appropriate congressional response to gun violence.