Not too long ago Kangas wouldn't have had an assault rifle to grab-up and start blasting away with. He would have had a shotgun, probably loaded with birdshot. Or, he would have had a bolt action hunting rifle. The troopers' vests would have provide protection from the shotgun, and although Kangas could have gotten one shot off with a bolt action rifle it is unlikely he would have been able to fire rapidly enough with it to preclude at least one of the troopers from using his weapon against Kangas.

It is beyond the pale that assault rifles have become the most popular firearm in the US. Other than military collectors, there is zero functional need for these damn weapons to be in the hands of every fool who finds the cash (PFD in this case?) to buy one. There is a reason these high velocity semi-automatic/fully automatic weapons are the choice of the US Military—they are perfect killing machines.

But, the NRA doesn’t have a problem with assault rifles being commonly available.