Belgian Jihadi Attack on Police Women: Pistol Beats Machete

Gun Watch ^ | 9 August, 2016 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

A Jihadi with a machete attacked two policewomen at the checkpoint outside of Belgian police headquarters in the city of Charleroi, on Saturday afternoon, 6 August, 2016.  One woman was seriously injured, another suffered minor wounds, and the third shot the attacker with the machete before he could inflict more damage. From the articles that I have read, it appears she was armed with a pistol. From the BBC.com:

A man shot by police after he attacked two officers with a machete in the Belgian city of Charleroi has died.

The women officers' injuries are not life-threatening.

The assailant is said to have shouted "Allahu Akbar" ("God is greatest" in Arabic) during the assault outside the city's main police station.

Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel told broadcaster RTL by phone: "Initial indications very clearly point towards terrorism."

Nearly all police in Belgium were centralized under one command in 2001.  There are about 12,500 officers. The pistol they were armed with was the Browning High-Powers, presumably made by FN. In 2011, Smith & Wesson won the contract for a new handgun for the force.  It was the S&W M&P9.  20,000 were ordered.  The transition to the S&W was expected to take 10 years.  We are half way through that cycle. From smith-wesson.com, 2011:

SPRINGFIELD, Mass., Nov. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: SWHC), parent company of Smith & Wesson Corp., the legendary 159-year old company in the global business of safety, security, protection, and sport, announced today that it has recently received a contract from the Belgium Federal Police calling for 20,000 Smith & Wesson® Military & Police (M&P) 9mm polymer pistols over a ten-year period. The police agency, a force with 12,500 officers, has received an initial shipment of 2,500 pistols as part of the full department conversion to Smith & Wesson duty firearms.

After an open evaluation process that included numerous competitors, the Smith & Wesson M&P9 was selected for its performance and for the support services provided by the Company. A thorough test and evaluation process by the Belgium Federal Police indicated that the firearm's reliability, interchangeable grips sizes and low perceived recoil were among the key drivers in the decision. In addition to duty pistols, the Belgium Federal Police also placed orders for simunition and dedicated training firearms based on the M&P platform. The firearms offered by Smith & Wesson were supported with a full range of services, including armorer's training. The Company also provided the agency with product manuals in multiple languages in order to ease the transition process.

The pistols ordered by the Belgium Federal Police were based upon the well established M&P platform, which has been adopted by hundreds of police agencies and has achieved popularity with consumers as well. The M&P9 pistols were built to meet the exact specifications set forth by the police agency. Enhanced features included luminescent sights, a manual thumb safety with on/off red dot indicator, and a raised loaded chamber indicator on top of the slide that could be felt by hand. The M&P9 pistols retained the original design features and were supplied with two 17-round magazines along with cleaning materials.

I do not know if the Jihadi was shot with a S&W M&P9 or one of the older High-Powers. Both pistols are well thought of.  I have not been able to ID any of the pistols carried by police women in pictures associated with the shooting, but there are several officers that are carrying UZI sub-machineguns. The sub-guns seem to be issued as a special tool.  Perhaps a knowledgeable reader can inform us as to how often the UZI is seen being carried by the Belgium Federal Police.

The Belgium police also have Steyer AUG rifles in their inventory.

Quite a coup for S&W to win this contract over FN.

This is another example for rampage shooters (or other attackers) to choose "gun free" zones.

 ©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Gun Watch

[Rurudyne]

“Suspect is fleeting down Pot Hole central. Am perusing. Please make me an appointment with the back trauma doctors!”

[bgill]

Wives could have put a stop to their abuse centuries ago with a little special spice in their masters’ dinner.

[moose07]

LoL. :)

“On call Osteopath to M4 Junction 12 ,over. “

[TheDon]

That caught my attention as well. Good for a laugh.

[normbal]

This can’t be repeated often enough.

Whether you’re an atheist or believer, the expression “Allahu akhbar” doesn’t mean “God” is greater, it means ALLAH is the supreme being bar none. In the muslim mind, God and Allah are NOT equivalent.

This is important. This is a taunt, a challenge, a rallying cry against all who believe in the God of Abraham Isaak and Jacob stating the desert moon god (aka “Ba’al,” or Satan, even according to some theologians) is greater.

If Jehovah, JHVH, The Holy of Holies, the Great Fortress were the SAME etymologically, theologically, equivalent to Allah, why did they change His name, seeing as they came out of the same culture? Answer: they didn’t. Reread the story of Isaak and Esau (as well as 1 Kings 18) and realize, Esau discarded the G-D of his culture he abandoned and adopted a belief in the god of the desert people he joined with. This is the same desert moon god of the muslims they worship as allah.

Doesn’t matter to you? You’re not a believer? It matters to them and they believe.

[Lurker]

What’s happening to the Hi Powers they’re retiring? I want one or two.

L

[Big Red Badger]

I gotta check but I thought it was Isaac and Ismaels’ split that started this same battle that plagues us today.

[Red in Blue PA]

Glock Akbar! “Glock is Greatest”

[Twinkie]

Sort of like “Indiana Jones” and the Muslim doing all the
twirling knife tricks. Jones finally just shot him and had
done with it. (I don’t think Harrison Ford is anything like
Indiana Jones. He just “plays” Jones in the movies.)

[oldvirginian]

“Sort of like “Indiana Jones” and the Muslim doing all the
twirling knife tricks. Jones finally just shot him and had
done with it.”

Originally that scene was scheduled to be one of the big fight scene.
Unfortunately Ford was sick and his temp was in the 101 degree range.
The director gave the ok to change the script so Ford could take the rest of the day off.

It became one of the most memorable scenes in the movie.
All because an actor was sick.

Ford is a pretty big lefty, but he isn’t as rabid about it as most Hollywood fruits and nuts.

[jim_trent]

I wonder if these machete attacks are using WW1 and WW2 surplus French machetes? There must be a lot of them still around. They were a pretty mean chunk of steel. Very heavy with 1/4” thick blade at the topside.