Posted on 06/29/2005 8:49:41 AM PDT by Dan from Michigan
Killers turn to assault rifles
7.62 mm weapons used in recent slayings
FLINT
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
By Ken Palmer, Bryn Mickle and James L. Smith
FLINT - Assault rifles favored by Iraqi insurgents are finding their way onto Flint streets in alarming numbers.
A spate of shootings using such 7.62 mm assault rifles as AK-47s has police worried about high-powered weapons better suited for war zones.
Why so much worry?
A 7.62mm round can cut straight through a bullet-resistant vest.
"That powerful of a weapon is a concern for the safety of officers and the public," said Deputy Flint Police Chief Gary Hagler.
On Saturday, Kenneth M. Frohm, 28, of North Branch was killed when rounds from an assault rifle were fired into a pickup on Flint's southeast side.
A few days earlier, a Flint man was killed and another man wounded by a drive-by shooter wielding a 7.62 mm rifle on Kleinpell Street.
On June 10, a Flint man was killed when someone fired an assault rifle into a car at a S. Dort Highway parking lot.
Over the past few weeks, police also have investigated incidents in which drive-by shooters with assault weapons peppered homes with bullets but didn't hit anyone.
"We've been trying to connect the dots, but as of right now, we don't know for sure (if any of the shootings are connected)," said Lt. Alvern Lock, head of the homicide squad.
Since police haven't recovered any of the guns yet, Hagler said police aren't sure what types of guns are being used.
Although 7.62 mm rounds are used by AK-47s, Hagler said they also are used in other rifles, such as the SKS, a rifle that once was the preferred weapon in former Eastern Bloc nations but which are becoming increasingly popular here.
Federal law requires background checks for gun purchases, but officials say those can be avoided by obtaining weapons through break-ins, thefts from gun dealers and straw purchases by legal buyers who resell the guns on the black market.
Such weapons as the SKS and AK-47 retail for as little as $150 and can be found for less than $100 on the street, said Vera Fedorak, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
Sometimes the guns are traded for drugs, she said.
"It's whatever the market will bear," said Fedorak.
The Genesee County Sheriff's Department has seized 10 7.62 mm rifles in the past couple of months, including fully automatic versions that are illegal.
"We are seeing more of them, especially in drug houses," said Undersheriff James S. Gage.
Flint police are working with the ATF and other agencies to learn where the guns are coming from and who is using them, Hagler said.
"I don't know how they're getting here," said Hagler.
Friends of the North Branch man killed by an assault rifle called his death senseless.
"Why would you randomly take someone's life? Just to do it?" said Cathy Ryckman, mother of Frohm's 3-month-old daughter, Andrea.
The couple had been together seven years and talked about marrying next summer, she said.
Frohm called Andrea "his heart," said Ryckman.
After her birth, Frohm had her name and footprints tattooed on his arm.
The concrete worker was always willing to help a friend, said Ryckman.
"He had a big heart and always gave everybody a chance, sometimes a second chance," she said.
And the common .30-06 deer hunting cartridge will cut right through a vest designed to stop 7.62x39mm
NIJ threat level for 7.62 is only Level III. The deer huntin' round is Level IV.
I've seen an SKS for 150 bucks on gunsamerica, but the only AKs I've seen have never gone for less than 500 dollars. They're just distorting the facts.
So will my knife, my ice pick, etc etc etc.
Good point. The only thing an AK has over a deer rifle is that it shoots faster.
Yup. Pretty much anything with a blade and a strong arm behind it'll go through a bulletproof vest. What'll they do, outlaw kitchen knives?
Aside from the hysterics of the article, I saw an SKS at a gunshow for $130 a few years back. The market was flooded with Yugo surplus then.
Dang, if anyone finds the place that is selling AKs for that kind of jack, let me know. I'll take a dozen or so.
The talking points in this article date back to around 1988. Remember the Stockton massacreee? SOS, different day.
The Yugos put a bunch of sks on the market a few years ago. You could pick up a decent one for $150-200. That's about the only shred of truth or rationality in this article. Since they are being used by criminals, let's disarm the law abiding public? Just about any high velocity rifle will penetrate a vest and 7.62x39 ain't "high" velocity. Same old "if no one had guns, no one would die crap.
"A 7.62mm round can cut straight through a bullet-resistant vest."
That is an outright lie, and is being used to "scare" everyone into demanding legistation to out law "assault weapons" again.
If a 7.62mm round can cut through bullet proof jackets, then why are the military using them in a war zone?
Take this article for what it is, a propoganda tool to get an "assault weapons ban!"
Has anyone heard of a police officer being killed in Michigan with an AK-47, or SKS rifle while they where wearing a BP jacket? Hell, if that was true, these cowards woulod not even go on patrol, because the Faternal Order of Police Unions would have already filed a law suit stopping their officers from patrolling with BP Jackets that do not work!
Give me a break!
http://www.aimsurplus.com/acatalog/Yugoslavian_Model_59_66_7_62x39_SKS_Rifle.html
And best of all, it is C&R eligible!
Amen.
Three bedwetting liars whose names are going on Koko's list (from the Mikado).
I have a little list
Of people who won't be missed
I bought an SKS for about $100 - but you are NOT going to find an AK, or the street or elsewhere, for close to $150.
Funny these numb-nut reporters just regurgitate what they are told without any critical thinking - they overstate the value of a dope seizure - but understate that cost of a gun.
Did you mistype, or did you say "If a 7.62 round can cut through a bulletproof jacket, why is the military using them in a war zone?" It would seem that if it can do that, it makes a lot of sense for the military to use it.
you sure that was an AK and not and AKM...the only that you can buy are the AKM simi auto...the AK is full auto!
Gist of article - 1. criminals are illegally obtaining assault weapons, 2. law enforcement cannot disarm criminals, 3. disarm the lawabiding because the criminals MIGHT get hold of an assault weapon.
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