All the “assault rifle” murders in the US amount for about 1% of all murders. If these weapons were completely banned, the thugs would switch to a different type of weapon. “Assault rifles” are considered scary because of all the Hollywood movies that show terrorists, crooks and even the good guys blasting away with fully automatic versions. They’ve planted this image in the minds of the public who then panic when they hear the phrase. Mindless.
It seems in a lot of cases these shooters are buying inexpensive AR-15 type rifles, and then they jam when they try to use them in rapid-fire situations.
Which seems like a great thing. The Parkland shooter was stopped by a rifle jam. He was using only 10-round magazines, which means he could have easily used a handgun or two, which would have been more reliable and allowed him to use all 150 rounds he had with him.