Monday, August 30, 2010

Monday crime summary

Knucklehead steals car, leads police on a chase, crashes into MTA Mobility vehicle.

Hookers and illegal immigrants in Howard County.

When the cops tell you to drop your assault rifle it's generally a good idea to do as they tell you. I've never heard of a "22-caliber assault rifle" though, sounds like the description of the weapon is a little questionable.

Dead body in Dundalk. Supposedly there are no signs of foul play, but OCME will be doing an autopsy.

A 29-year old man was shot dead near Westside Elementary School.

A new Gregg Bernstein ad is out. This one features the mother of murder victim Angelo Dangerfield. Dangerfield's alleged killers weren't prosecuted because there was only a single witness.

10 comments:

Laura said...

regarding the "assault rifle" - that's a default term for any firearm the media doesn't recognize. furthermore, "assault rifles" don't come in .22 - they're two different animals.

that said, it could have been an AR15 (still not an "assault rifle" like an AK47) with a .22 conversion kit...or it could have been a .22 with a scope (readily available at Dick's for something like $150). they'll spin it into some horrid thing just because they want justification for shooting someone.

ppatin said...

falnfenix:

I don't think there's any need for spin. When a guy with a long criminal record brandishes a gun and won't drop it when the cops tell him to then it doesn't really matter whether it was an assault rifle or not. The police were justified in shooting him.

Cory said...

The confusion about the "assault rifle" could also be due to the fact that the bore on a typical AR-15/M-16 is actually .22 caliber. The .223 caliber ammunition is quite different, but the slug is still effectively .22 caliber.

Laura said...

@ppatin - it causes further issue with those of us fighting for the right to keep our firearms. they'll use whatever terminology they can to create a visceral reaction in the public. calling it an "assault rifle" when it may very well have been nothing more than a .22 rifle is false identification and is unnecessary. they could have simply said a semiautomatic rifle to describe the firearm, but that just doesn't get the same reaction.

@Cory - you're right, but it's still not a .22 :) it might be .223 or 5.56, but not plain old .22

Justin Fenton said...

falnfenix, believe it or not, the media doesn't just call something an assault rifle by default when we don't know what kind of gun was used. The information comes from police, who you think would know these things. On many occasions, I've called a particular gun shop in town to run these things by them since I don't profess to know much about guns.

Laura said...

@Justin - thanks for calling me out on that. you seem to be in the minority...i've had conversations with folks in the media who assume a shotgun is an assault rifle simply because it's a long gun. these same individuals have also called semi-auto sa/da pistols "fully automatic" because it sounds better.

ppatin said...

Sounds like it was the PD in this case. According to the article:

"An assault rifle, it goes above and beyond," said Detective Donny Moses, Baltimore City Police. "It's a military-style weapon where rapid fire becomes possible."

MacArthur Media Staff said...

Still a bunch of boguosity! With all due respect to Det. Moses, who I like and truly have a high degree of respect for. His description is way off. It CANNOT be a SEMI-AUTO and ASSAULT rifle at the same time. Completely impossible. Any semi-auto is capable of rapid fire if you have a rapid trigger finger. Doesn't make it an assault rifle.

For the uninitiated, a true military assault rifle is capable of select fire. As in, it has a lever with which you can select FULL AUTO, what many mistakenly call a machine gun.

There are many "military style" rifles out there, but calling them assault rifles is like saying someone wearing fashion fatigues was in a military uniform. Just not very accurate.

BTW, my background and credentials are often questioned by anonymous commentators online. A little on my background. MD National Guard fire arms training, United States Marine Corps -- Marksman, trained with numerous firearms and weapons systems. A couple of police academies, tactical training institute, and in service agency training with a federal intelligence/investigations contractor.

I may not be an expert, but among local journalists, you'd be hard pressed to find one knowing more about weapons than me.

A.F. James MacArthur Ph.A.L.

ppatin said...

The Editors:

I'm no firearms expert either, but I know that the M16A2 isn't actually capable of full auto fire even though it certainly qualifies as an assault rifle...

MacArthur Media Staff said...

ppatin

The M16A2 IS capable of SELECT FIRE, three round bursts. This is indeed a form of automatic fire. The key is SELECT FIRE. Any weapon capable of select fire is a true assault weapon.