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And, the AP ammo is virtually impossible to come by. There's no indication that he used anything other than the standard NATO round, in his attack.

Okay, what are we talking about here?

"Standard NATO round"? This is a NATO round? I thought 9mm Parabellum FMJ was the "standard NATO round" for a sidearm.

Newsies on TV visiting a gun shop showed a round -- saying that that was what Hasan had used -- which had a blue ballistic tip. Didn't look like military ball ammo at all. Something is off here.

"Okay, what are we talking about here?"

Yeah, I probably should have used "NATO" (which comes in 5.56, 7.62 and 9mm), and should just have said, standard full-metal jacketed round.

But, your comments about the "blue ballistic tip" would indicate that he may have been using ammunition known as SS197SR, which is a hollow-point, and NOT armor-piercing and that is legal here in the US (and most other countries).

Armor-piercing ammunition, in my experience, always has a black tip, per NATO specifications. Here's what Wiki says...

"The Five-Seven and 5.7x28mm ammunition were the target of brief controversy in the United States in 2004[16] when it was claimed by the Brady Campaign that commercially available SS192 penetrated a Level IIA vest in testing.[19] However, armor piercing variants of the 5.7x28mm are only offered to law enforcement and military customers.[6] Commercially available variants of the 5.7x28mm cartridge are classified by the ATF as being not armor piercing[17] and it was claimed that the SS192 and SS196 cartridge variants did not penetrate Kevlar vests in tests conducted by FNH USA."

I remember receiving a Natchez Shooter Supply catalog in the mail last year and they listed 5.7 AP ammo for sale. I found it strange at the time, because I think it would be illegal to buy the ammo in AP flavor if you own either the pistol or the P-90.