Posted on 11/14/2006 1:14:26 PM PST by kiriath_jearim
LIVE ammunition has been found lying in the doorway of a busy high street shop.
The .22 calibre short round bullet was found at the entrance of the 99p Stores in Walthamstow High Street on Wednesday morning, November 1.
[LETHAL: The .22 calibre bullet found in Walthamstow High Street on a market day morning (D6W1001)]
Haroon Khan, who has a firearms licence and is a member of a local gun club, was alarmed to discover live ammunition in a Walthamstow doorway.
The bullet, of Swiss origin, was still in its brass casing, complete with enough gunpowder for it to fire itself.
continued... Mr Khan said that if it had been struck hard enough or exposed to heat it could have gone off.
"This sort of thing should not be lying around. It was live, primed and active," he said. "But rather me pick it up than a little kid.
"How can you feel safe when you are finding things like this on the street?
"To get hold of one of these is not easy. You have to go through a scrutinised search, you need a licence and you have to belong to a club."
Ammunition of this kind would ordinarily be used in a small handgun or pistol, and both can be owned legally under licence.
But to leave strictly controlled goods out in the street would be enough for a firearms licence to be revoked.
The bullet has been examined at a Metropolitan Police laboratory and details about it kept for future reference.
A police spokesman said: "Recovering firearms and ammunition is a priority for the police. We take the same view of ammunition as we do of a gun.
"If it goes bang, it is still lethal."
Police are treating the unattended ammunition as a crime. Mr Khan alerted them at 10.16am, and they arrived at his shop to pick up the bullet at 11.32am.
Hold the presses!
Horrors upon horrors!!!!!
Wow, they'd be upset by what rattles around my floorboard.
The horror!
"The bullet, of Swiss origin, was still in its brass casing, complete with enough gunpowder for it to fire itself."
****
Oh no!! Not THAT kind of bullet!!! /sarc
Oh, the humanity!
Horrors!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Must be some type of terrorist attack.
Gee that picture sure is a big .22, think they can blow it up even larger? :-)
complete with enough gunpowder for it to fire itself!..........
Must be one of those "smart" bullets.
Must have fallen out of Barney Fife's pocket.
Thank goodness it wasn't a knife found in the doorway! I hear those things jump out of drawers and stab ya to death with little or no provocation!
(What morons.)
I'm picturing them standing around it poking it with a stick, like if cavemen came across a toaster.
Ok Switzerland, you asked for it, it's ON!
I'm headed for the fallout shelter. Ping me when it's all over! /sarcasm set to 11
Next week:
Sharp stick found in garden.
And this is the mighty Empire upon which the sun never sat! How terribly sad.
If this scares them then what I have in my garage will give them heart seizures!!!!
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