Assault weapon used in Palmetto nightclub shooting

 

Investigators are scouring arrest reports and other records regarding victims in a shooting spree this past weekend at a Palmetto nightclub to determine any possible suspects and motives in the unsolved case. Facts AK-47 BASICS Palmetto police say an AK-47 assault rifle was used in the mass shooting that killed two and injured 22 others at a nightclub early Saturday. Here is a primer on the weapon and why it is so infamous: • When fully automatic, it can fire 600 rounds per minute. Semi-automatic models can fire 45 to 60 rounds per minute. • Accuracy is low, but firepower is strong; bullets tend to flip in flight, increasing damage to human tissue and organs. • Possession is legal in Florida and in many states, though state laws can vary widely. • The name AK-47 is from a combination of the name of designer Mikhail Kalashnikov, a Soviet tank crew member. It went into production in 1947. • It is among the earliest designs of assault rifles, and one of the most widely used in the world. • More AK-type rifles have been produced than any other assault rifle. SOURCES: answers.com, thefirearmsforum.com, webanswers.com “We're looking through everything we have,” Manatee County Sheriff's Office spokesman Dave Bristow said this morning. “Palmetto Police are looking back at everything they have.” Witnesses believe gunmen may have targeted Trayon Goff, 25, who was outside Club Elite, 704 10th St. W., when the shooting began at about 12:30 a.m. Saturday. Two were killed and 22 injured in the shooting. Investigators are unsure whether Goff's criminal past factors into the case. The felony cases filed against Trayon Goff occurred in 2005 and 2006. Undercover sheriff's detectives claimed that Goff repeatedly sold them rock cocaine outside the R&R Market at 7205 Bayshore Road in Rubonia. The transactions were reportedly recorded on video. One detective reported that Goff sold him cocaine there on Sept. 6, 2005, and again on Sept. 13, 2005. For his conviction on those two counts, Goff served two months in the county jail. Goff was later identified as participating in a previous rock cocaine transaction at the store on Aug. 25, 2005. In that case, he served 60 days in the county jail. He was accused of selling rock cocaine to a different undercover detective outside the same store on May 23, 2006. In that case, he was sentenced to a year in the county jail. No further felony arrests for Goff have been recorded in Manatee County since, though there is an ongoing domestic relations case in which the records are confidential and a recent case of driving with a suspended license in which Goff was fined.