Gun Policy News, 27 January 2009
United States
California SWAT Team Recycles Disabled Submachine Guns Into Movies
27 January 2009
Daily Sound (California)
Weapons currently carried by members of the Santa Barbara Police Department's SWAT team may soon pop up in Hollywood action films.
If the move is approved by the City Council tomorrow, the department will trade out its set of old weapons for new equipment through Cinema Weaponry, a firearms dealer out of Glendale, Calif., that converts weapons for use as props in movies.
Police officials began searching for an arms dealer willing to trade after current equipment began... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Daily Sound (California)
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United States
Big Growth, More Jobs, More Subsidies for US Ammunition Industry
27 January 2009
Associated Press
INDEPENDENCE, Missouri — An ongoing effort to upgrade and modernize the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant got another boost Monday, when the plant's operator received an additional $49 million for the project.
The plant's operator, Minneapolis-based Alliant Techsystems, received the money from the U.S. Army Sustainment Command in Rock Island, Ill.
It's the latest installment in a modernization project that began in 2005. The plant, which opened in 1941, is the largest... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Associated Press
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United States
Random US Nightclub Murder-suicide Kills, Injures Exchange Students
27 January 2009
Seattle Times
PORTLAND, Oregon — The man suspected of shooting nine people and himself outside a Portland nightclub left a note in which he bequeathed his car and PlayStation 3 to a roommate and said he was sorry.
In the note, released by Portland police Monday, Erik S. Ayala, 24, meticulously lists off his bank-account information and how his roommate can get top dollar for the game station.
"I'm sorry to put all this on you buddy, good luck," Ayala wrote.
Portland police are... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Seattle Times
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United States
US Police Chief Charged in Boy's Machine Gun Death Resigns
27 January 2009
Associated Press
PELHAM, Massachusetts — The Massachusetts police chief who is charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of a boy at a gun show has resigned.
Pelham Chief Edward Fleury's resignation was accepted by the Board of Selectmen on Monday, three months after 8-year-old Christopher Bizilj accidentally shot himself with an Uzi during a Westfield gun fair.
Fleury's company, COP Firearms & Training, sponsored the event. He has pleaded not guilty.
The boy, from... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Associated Press
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United States
Oregon Man Who Shot 9 Dies: Dealer Recalls Selling Him the Handgun
27 January 2009
Oregonian (Portland)
The 24-year-old Milwaukie man who police say shot nine others before shooting himself in the head Saturday night has died.
Portland police said Erik S. Ayala died today at Legacy Emanuel Hospital & Health Center. The Multnomah County Medical Examiners office confirmed his death at 2:22 p.m.
Ayala had been in critical condition since the shooting Saturday night outside an underage nightclub in downtown Portland.
Police today also said they tracked the 9 mm handgun... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Oregonian (Portland)
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Australia
Road Rage Gun Murder Stuns Australia Day Revellers on Gold Coast
27 January 2009
Courier-Mail (Brisbane)
The father of a Gold Coast man who was gunned down in a shocking Australia Day road rage murder says the tragedy is a lesson to drivers to keep their cool.
His son, father-of-two Omega Ruston, 32, died in a hail of bullets beside the Gold Coast Highway on Monday night after an apparently minor traffic incident escalated into a lethal confrontation.
Yesterday a devastated Phil Ruston said his family was struggling to come to terms with the sudden and violent death of... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Courier-Mail (Brisbane)
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Australia
South Australians Still Handing Over Assault Rifles, Pistols for Destruction
27 January 2009
Advertiser (Adelaide)
Deadly military-style rifles, forgotten rabbit-hunting rifles and worn-out handguns have been turned in to police without penalty during an amnesty on unregistered firearms.
More than 370 firearms — including Chinese assault rifles, complete with factory-fitted bayonet, WWII German Luger semi-automatic pistols and revolvers — have been surrendered since December 1 last year.
Police urge more owners to give up unwanted and unregistered firearms before the amnesty... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Advertiser (Adelaide)
29085
United States,Mexico
'Corrupt' American Gun Dealers Make Mexican Gang Slaughter Possible
27 January 2009
Associated Press
PHOENIX, Arizona — As police approached a drug cartel's safe house in northwestern Mexico last May, gunmen inside poured on fire with powerful assault rifles and grenades, killing seven officers whose weapons were no match.
Four more lawmen were wounded in the bloodbath and a cache of weapons was seized, including a single AK-47 assault rifle that authorities say was purchased 800 miles away at a Phoenix gun shop and smuggled into Mexico.
The rifle's presence in... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Associated Press
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United States
Oregon Man Who Shot 9, Killing 2 Then Himself, Was 'Student of Concern'
27 January 2009
Oregonian (Portland)
PORTLAND, Oregon — Investigators say the 24-year-old gunman who shot nine people and then took his own life downtown Saturday night displayed troublesome behavior in high school, had attempted suicide in the past and was treated for depression at least once.
"This was somebody who had a history of emotional issues, and unfortunately decided to take others along with him," Portland Detective Division Cmdr. John Eckhart said Tuesday.
A broader picture of Erik S.... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Oregonian (Portland)
29096
United States
Connecticut UPS Drivers Trafficked Weapons Stolen from Gun Dealer
27 January 2009
Norwalk Hour (Connecticut)
Another man was arraigned Tuesday in connection with illegal gun trafficking allegedly carried out by a Norwalk UPS employee.
John White, 31, formerly of Stratford, is accused of illegally transferring a pistol. He allegedly bought a stolen gun from Glenroy Ford, his coworker at UPS. White was released on a non-surety bond of $10,000 in Norwalk Superior Court.
Both men were employed as delivery drivers at UPS in Norwalk, according to court records.
Ford, 33, of... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Norwalk Hour (Connecticut)
29100
United States,Italy
Students from Italy, France, Peru, Ecuador, Taiwan, Guatemala Shot in US
27 January 2009
Agenzia Giornalistica Italia
PORTLAND, Oregon — An Italian student is recovering with an uncertain prognosis in Portland, Oregon, after becoming the victim of the wild acts of a young man who killed two girls and injured a further seven before shooting himself in the head.
Local media reports that the girl, Susanna De Sousa, 18, from Rome, was in Oregon as part of a program of cultural exchange organised by the Rotary Club.
The girls' parents are on their way to the United States after they... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Agenzia Giornalistica Italia
29102
United States
US Man Shot Up Police Car, Now Suspect in 11 Church, Police Shootings
27 January 2009
Associated Press
ST. JOHNSBURY, Vermont — A man arrested Tuesday after allegedly shooting out the window of a police car is being investigated in earlier shootings that targeted churches, homes and a Vermont State Police barracks, authorities said.
John M. Davis fired a sawed-off shotgun from a moving car outside the St. Johnsbury Police Department early Tuesday, blowing out the back window of a squad car, Police Chief Richard Leighton said.
Ricocheting shotgun pellets also... (GunPolicy.org)
Read More: Associated Press
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