Lawrence O'Donnell raged against NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre on Monday for what the MSNBC host called "exploiting" the Boston bombings to advocate against greater gun control measures in front of a "reality-challenged audience."
"How many Bostonians wished they had a gun two weeks ago?" LaPierre asked before a supportive crowd on Saturday.
"Yeah, Wayne LaPierre went there," O'Donnell said. "And the answer is: none of the Bostonians I talked to wished they had a gun ... Guns would not have done anyone any good at any time in that story in Boston and we know it." He added, "Wayne [LaPierre] doesn't care about or even know the facts of the Boston case, so he probably doesn't know that the first person that the bombers encountered after the bombing had a gun," O'Donnell said. "That was MIT police officer Sean Collier. He was assassinated by Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Officer Collier never had a chance to use his gun."
Police believed that Collier was killed because the Boston suspects wanted another gun. Investigators believed that they were unable to obtain the firearm because Collier's holster had a lock.
O'Donnell later said, "We don't know yet exactly how Tamerlan Tsarnaev got the gun used to assassinate Officer Sean Collier and to wound Officer Richard Donohue. But we do know that getting that gun was made easier -- much, much easier -- by the life's work of Wayne LaPierre."
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