Cheap 'idiot-proof' rifle killed Phila. officer" - dialogue with reporter Sam Wood

[Brown-Bear]

This is me grieving for his family, and friends. And this is me not caring about the article.

Dave

[Dredly]

Anyone else disappointed that there was no mention that they normally come with a bayonet for stabbing your victims to death and prying open jugs of moon shine?

[BSH]

Interesting factoid: more law enforcement officers are killed with their own weapons than with AK/SKS type 7.62 rounds. (info from an FBI study on LEO casualties)

[Brown-Bear]

Originally Posted by BSH

Interesting factoid: more law enforcement officers are killed with their own weapons than with AK/SKS type 7.62 rounds. (info from an FBI study on LEO casualties)

Interesting. Is there a linky to go with that "factoid"?

[Philadelphia]

Originally Posted by BSH

Interesting factoid: more law enforcement officers are killed with their own weapons than with AK/SKS type 7.62 rounds. (info from an FBI study on LEO casualties)

That is scarey. Maybe qualification should include retention exercises and a test.

http://www.officer.com/web/online/On-the-Street/Handgun-Retention-Training/21$38827

[crlovel]

What is also interesting, they finally mention "deer rifle" in an article. Until now, I have never heard mention of hunting rifles, only what they call "assault rifles." They started their little war against our "assault rifles" years ago. Are we now seeing the opening salvo on hunting rifles as well?

[Frenchy]

I wrote back to this pin head of a journalist... My replies are in {quotes}

Posted on Mon, May. 5, 2008
Cheap “idiot-proof” rifle killed Phila. Officer {This rifle is not more idiot proof then many other rifles out there
By Sam Wood
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

It's called the "poor man's deer rifle." {It’s called the SKS, You can not hunt deer in PA with a semi auto!}

Inexpensive, deadly, and fairly common, the gun that killed a Philadelphia police officer Saturday was originally designed for the Soviet Army in the mid 1940s. {Relatively inexpensive, there are cheaper guns out there; it was a rifle of the Soviet army. Not that the thieves who rob guns to put out on the street care much about history or the price of guns, they grab what they can when ever they can}

The SKS carbine {Rifle, this is by no means a carbine, it usually sports a 18” bayonet not an 18” barrel} - considered simple and rugged - weighs about 8.5 pounds and can be bought legally for as little as $179. Instructions for cleaning and routine maintenance can be found on YouTube. {Is learning how to clean your rifle a felony now?}

Considered "idiot proof," the SKS carbine became favorite of hunters in the American South when hundreds of thousands of them flooded the surplus market in the 1980s, authorities said. {as well as millions of other war rifles from many other countries}

Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski, 39, was in pursuit of a trio of armed bankrobbers when one of gunmen shot and killed the 14-year police department veteran. {Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski, was doing his job when he died and you are making a farce of it in this report}

The three gunmen were fleeing in an SUV after a heist that netted $38,000 from a Port Richmond bank. Liczbinski, first to spot the robbers, was close behind them.

The Jeep came to a stop. Liczbinski got out of his police cruiser.

"I'm going to let him have it," said ex-con Howard Cain before pulling the trigger on the semi-automatic. { I take it you where there to hear him say this all gangster like?}

Cain squeezed off five shots. Liczbinski collapsed.

The three gunmen ditched the SUV four blocks from where the officer lay dying.

Police cornered Cain, still brandishing his SKS, near the Roosevelt Boulevard. They shot him dead.

"Every gun tells a story," said Tony Robbins, of the ATF. "This one has its story, too." {and your about to embellish it to Sell to the sheep out there who believe all firearms are evil, Why don’t you do your job properly and show how the man behind the gun was a 7 time convicted felon, and not your typical citizen out going to the gun club?}

The SKS sells for less than $200 in a legal gun shop or gun show, said Robbins, a special agent in charge at the Philadelphia field office of the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms. {Second time you mention this! Not that this would matter to a street punk because they do not pay but steal their guns}

"They're very cheap, but very deadly," Robbins said. "They're also pretty intimidating. They have a lot of firepower. That's why you'll see 'em the street" {you already said they where not costly twice, but you forget to say the felon probably got his at a five finger discount bullets included, as far as deadly, so is a .22 when aimed properly}

The gun that killed officer Liczbinski was outfitted with a 30 cartridge magazine and fired a 7.62x39mm bullet, Robbins said. As it took 3 to 5 shots to do this, would it really matter if it was a 5, 10 20 or 30 round magazine?}

An box of 800 surplus rounds can be bought on the internet for about $100. {You have to show me where, I could make a fortune if this was true! Mater of fact, so could the thugs who killed Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski, These bullets go for around a dollar a piece, http://www.midwayusa.com/ebrowse.exe/browse?TabID=3&Categoryid=7534&categorystring=653* **690*** }

Though unusual, "those rounds are out there," Robbins said. "These knuckleheads had 'em." {There is nothing unusual about seeing 7.62X39 just about anywhere you go to buy bullets, only unusual thing is trying to find 800 for around $100}

Cain, a convicted felon, would have been prohibited from purchasing or owning any gun, Robbins said.{Finally you get to the felon, hang him to dry!}

Robbins would not comment on how Cain came to possess the gun or if the ATF has been able to trace the weapon. {He stole the damn gun, you know it, the police knows it, why not tell the people the truth rather then have them believe he bought it over the counter at his local gun store! Already you dropped the fllon thing, this is what needs to be said. }

"We're working on the origin of the gun," Robbins said. "We have substantial leads. Anything further than that, I really can't say." {So now when they say the gun was stolen off of some one who had a right to own guns, you will make that honest citizen out to be a bad guy too?}

The SKS dates to the mid-40s and was originally designed for the Soviet infantry. {You already stated this a few times now} The Red Army replaced the SKS with the AK-47. The Chinese military bought the SKS manufacturing equipment and produced more than 8 million of them. {This is basically less then one per person in China}


What a crock of a story you wrote there “Mr. I know guns and can report this on the news!” When are you liberal minded journalist going to start hanging the bad guy on the news and showing how the person not the gun killed the man. A gun can sit for 60 years like this SKS did and not harm a soul, could we say as much of Cain? I don’t think so, after his 2nd and 3rd felony, he should have been hung out to dry in some forgotten jail where keys get lost and communication is rare. It is time journalist like you Sir start getting the facts right, If we put away these street thugs, they would not come back to better train others in doing crime. What you need to do is get all the friends of this person (Cain), all the people who surrounded him and KNEW of his background and the danger he was on the street and outline them as the people who killed Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski because that is what they are. The people who could have stopped this murderer from ever being out there again to rob and kill!

Robert B.
xx xxxxxxxx xx
Ambridge PA. 15003

[crlovel]

+4 Frenchy. Awesome rebuttal to an awful article.

[BenningBoy]

(sigh), Something else I have to hurry up and buy before November.

[King 5.45]

Journalism at its finest changed the title and seemed to shorten it up. Now if it would only go away.

Cheap but deadly weapon killed police officer

By Sam Wood

Inquirer Staff Writer
It's called the "poor man's deer rifle."

Inexpensive, deadly and fairly common, the gun used to kill a Philadelphia police officer Saturday was originally designed for the Soviet Army in the mid-1940s.

The SKS carbine - considered simple and rugged - weighs about 8.5 pounds and can be bought legally for as little as $179. Instructions for cleaning and routine maintenance can be found on YouTube.

Considered "idiot proof," the SKS carbine became a favorite of hunters in the American South when hundreds of thousands of them flooded the surplus market in the 1980s, authorities said. It's also becoming a favorite of Philadelphia criminals.

Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski, 39, was in pursuit of a trio of bank robbers when one, armed with an SKS, shot and killed the 12-year veteran.

"Every gun tells a story," said Tony Robbins of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. "This one has its story, too."

The SKS generally sells for less than $200 at legal gun shops and gun shows, said Robbins, assistant special agent in charge at the Philadelphia field office of the ATF.

"They're very cheap, but very deadly," Robbins said yesterday. "They're also pretty intimidating. They have a lot of firepower. That's why you'll see them on the street."

Federal agents have found the SKS is a favorite of drug dealers.

The gun used to kill Liczbinski was outfitted with a 30-cartridge magazine and fired a high-powered 7.62x39mm round that can pierce a bulletproof vest.

A box of 800 surplus rounds can be bought on the Internet for about $100.

Though unusual, "those rounds are out there," Robbins said. "These knuckleheads had them."

Howard Cain, a convicted felon, would have been prohibited from buying or owning any gun, Robbins said.

Robbins would not comment on how Cain came to possess the gun.

"We're working on the origin of the gun," Robbins said. "We have substantial leads."

The SKS was designed for the Soviet infantry. The Red Army replaced the SKS with the AK-47. During the Cold War era, the Soviet Union shared design and manufacturing details of the SKS with its allies and the Chinese produced more than 8 million of them.

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/world_us/18681039.html