Appearing on MSNBC on Monday, Bill Bratton, the former New York City police commissioner, claimed that if the Las Vegas shooter had used a “silencer” on his firearms, “you would not have even known this was happening.”
Right now before Congress — and I will make a prediction for you sitting here — there is a bill to allow silencers that would muffle the sound of a gunshot to be sold openly. Right now, they’re very restricted.
When host Stephanie Ruhle asked Bratton what the rationale would be for someone to own a “silencer,” the former commissioner replied:
The NRA claims it’s to protect the ears of hunters … under the ruse of protecting the hearing of hunters, they’re gonna authorize a device that will effectively silence a weapon. So, imagine if this individual had a silencer on the end of some of these weapons, you would not have even known this was happening. …
Anyone with a working knowledge of firearms knows that “silencers” do not silence gunfire, they simply reduce the level of sound emitted when a gun is fired. The sound we hear in movies when a spy or criminal uses a “silencer” is not accurate.
According to Dakota Silencer, a shot fired by a Remington 700 LTR produces a sound that reaches approximately 167 decibels. When a suppressor is attached, that sound is reduced to 133 decibels. An AR-15 with a 16 inch barrel produces a sound reaching 165 decibels. When a suppressor is attached, that sound is reduced to 132 decibels.
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For comparison, according to the National Institutes Of Health (NIH), a nearby thunderclap reaches 120 decibels, while a jackhammer reaches 110 decibels. The Center for Hearing and Communication adds that an ambulance reaches 120 decibels.
Allegedly “silenced” rifles are still louder than a jackhammer, an ambulance, or a thunderclap. So no, Mr. Bratton, a suppressor would not, by any means, have made the Las Vegas shooter’s guns silent.