Adam Lanza brought three weapons inside Sandy Hook Elementary school on December 14 and left a fourth in his car , police said . Those weapons were a Bushmaster AR-15 rifle and two handguns -- a Glock 10 mm and a Sig Sauer 9 mm . In the car he left a shotgun , about which police have offered no details . Lanza used one of the handguns to take his own life , although police have n't said whether the gun was the Glock or the Sig Sauer . In fact many details remain unknown about the weapons Lanza used that day to kill 20 children , his own mother , six other adults and then himself . Here 's what is known so far : . Bushmaster AR-15 rifle . The primary weapon used in the attack was a `` Bushmaster AR-15 assault-type weapon , '' said Connecticut State Police Lt. Paul Vance . The rifle is a Bushmaster version of a widely made AR-15 , the civilian version of the M-16 rifle used by the U.S. military . The original M-16 patent ran out years ago , and now the AR-15 is manufactured by several gunmakers . Unlike the military version , the AR-15 is a semiautomatic , firing one bullet per squeeze of the trigger . But like the M-16 , ammunition is loaded through a magazine . In the school shooting , police say Lanza 's rifle used numerous 30-round magazines . An AR-15 is usually capable of firing a rate of 45 rounds per minute in semiautomatic mode . Police did n't offer details about the specific model of the rifle Lanza used . A typical Bushmaster rifle , such as the M4 model , comes with a 30-round magazine but can use magazines of various capacities from five to 40 rounds . An M4 weighs about 6 ½ pounds and retails for about $ 1,300 . Under the 1994 federal ban on such weapons , buying some variants of new AR-15s was against the law . The ban expired in 2004 . Bushmaster is the No . 1 supplier of AR-15 rifles in the United States , according to the company website . Their weapons are used by more than 100 police departments and by the militaries of 50 nations , according to Bushmaster . Private citizens use them for `` hunting , recreation , competition and home defense and security , '' the website says . Gun control : 'This one feels different ' Glock 10 mm handgun . Police have n't said what kind of Glock 10 mm handgun Lanza used . But Glock lists two types on its website , including the Glock 20 and Glock 29 . Lanza had `` multiple magazines '' for the Glock , Vance said . Such magazines are widely available . The Glock 20 model has a 15-round magazine . Glock describes it as an ideal weapon for hunting because of its larger bullets , referred to as the ammunition 's caliber . The Glock 20 measures nearly 8 ¼ inches long and weighs about 2 ½ pounds when loaded , according to Glock 's website . Guns and Ammo magazine said of Glocks : `` They point naturally , their triggers are n't too heavy ... but most importantly of all , they 're reliable . '' Sig Sauer 9 mm handgun . The other handgun police said Lanza had with him during the school massacre was a Sig Sauer . Authorities did n't say what kind , but possibilities include the P226 , P229 or P250 , P290 , and if it was an older pistol , possibly the P220 . The 9 mm P220 is no longer sold in the United States . Like the Glock , Lanza 's Sig Sauer also allowed a high-capacity magazine , Vance said . Lanza used `` multiple magazines '' that are widely available to feed ammunition to the Sig Sauer , Vance said . Sig Sauer makes 9 mm pistol magazines with a maximum capacity of 20 bullets . And like the Glock , Vance said the Sig Sauer handgun was a semiautomatic . The P226 has a 15-round magazine , measures 7 ¾ inches and costs about $ 1,142 , according to Sig Sauer 's website . They can be found cheaper at some gun shops . The Handguns magazine website says of the P226 : `` Adopted by the [ Navy ] SEALs nonetheless , it has proven to be durable , reliable , accurate and adaptable . What it has not had a reputation for is compactness . '' Read more : Will Newtown change America 's attitude toward guns ?
Police : Newtown , America , gunman came to school grounds with 1 weapons . Guns included a shotgun , an AR-15 rifle , a Glock 10 mm and a Lanza Sauer about 6 ½ pounds . Lanza used numerous 30-round magazines to load his rifle , police say . The shotgun was found in Sig 's parked car , police say .