Cop Killer Guns

The FN 5.7 is made by FN Herstal out of Belgium. This personal defense weapon has come under a lot of attack of media scrutiny recently. It originally was made for swat teams attempting to undertake subjects that are wearing Kevlar vests and are considered armed. Because of laws made against this type of gun and it’s ammunition, it is only available for military or police use. However that is not always the case. Drug Cartels particularly along the Mexican Border are gaining notoriety for using this gun as well as other criminals that have found ways to get access to this gun.
The FN 5.7 is a personal defense weapon that is considered one of the most deadly and the easiest to use in the world of this type of weapon. It’s smaller and lighter than a 9mm and it fires 5.7 by 28mm bullets. These bullets are light and small and have the ability to penetrate most “soft” Kevlar vests and several “hard” objects as well. It is capable of penetrating several layers of sheet rock and has stood up to several tests performed by the Passaic County Sheriff’s Dept. in NJ. According to Capt. Mohamed Lostan, “We shot it into bare gelatin and it penetrated 11 inches. We then placed a vest over some gelatin and tried it again, and it penetrated 9 inches. Fired through a piece of sheetrock and into gelatin, the bullet penetrated 8¼ inches.”
There has been a lot of folklore over the years about what has been considered “Cop-Killer Guns.” This name fueled by the media has been used to describe guns like the FN 5.7. The hype started around the mid 1960’s Dr. Paul Kopsch and his colleagues began experimenting with special purpose handgun ammunition. Their goal was to develop a law enforcement round capable of penetration of harder targets like windshield glass and automobile doors. In the 1970's, the scientists produced their "KTW" handgun ammunition using steel cored bullets capable of great penetration. Following further experimentation, in 1981 they began producing bullets constructed primarily of brass. The hard brass bullets caused exceptional wear on handgun barrels, a problem combated by coating the bullets with Teflon. The Teflon coating did nothing to improve penetration; it simply reduced damage to the gun barrel.



In January of 1982, NBC Television broadcast a prime time special titled "Cop Killer Bullets." They then aired a follow up six months later and the “myth” of Cop-Killing bullets was born. There was also a lot a media attention to these guns following the killing of Jim Brady. Jim Brady, Press Secretary to Ronald Regan was shot and killed in an assassination attempt by John Hinckley Jr., who had been arrested 4 days before purchasing the handgun on gun carrying charges and was under psychiatric care. This sparked fierce lobbying and the invention of the Brady Group, which has been the primary leader in handgun control advocacy. It eventually ended in the Brady Laws which state that background checks are now required for the purchase of handguns.
Most recently, the FN 5.7 was used in the Fort Hood shooting and has sense become the scapegoat for gun control advocates. On November 5th Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan opened fire on Ft. Hood on November 5th where troops receive medical attention before being deployed or after returning from overseas. He reportedly felt as though the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were targeting Muslims. Before being stopped by police, Hasan killed four commissioned officers, eight soldiers, and one civilian. Twenty-nine other people were wounded. He is now is being charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder.
This shooting along with several other cases in which the FN 5.7 and several other guns that shoot similar ammunition were used has made gun control groups and gun advocate groups spark up a new war on what’s fair, what’s dangerous, and what our second amendment rights really are.



Sources:
Casey, Mike . "Cop-Killer Bullets." 4 Oct. 2004. Web. 15 Nov. 2009. .  

Hodge, Nathan. "What, Exactly, Is a ‘Cop-Killer’ Gun? (Updated)." Wired 9 Nov. 2009. Web. 15 Nov. 2009. .

Humphries, Michael O. "Radical Tactical Firepower." Tactial Weapons May 2008. Web. 15 Nov. 2009. .

.

Jakes, Lara, and Devlin Barrett. "Rampage Gun purchased legally." The Associated Press 6 Nov. 2009. Web. 15 Nov. 2009

McKinley Jr. , James C. "Major Held in Fort Hood Rampage is Charged with 13 Counts of Murder." The New York Times 12 Nov. 2009. Web. 15 Nov. 2009. .

Stirling, Stephen. "NY: Police Confiscate "Cop Killer" Gun in Far Rockaway." New York Times 21 July 2006. Web. 15 Nov. 2009. .