KILLEEN, Texas — On Wednesday and Thursday, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan seemed in a hurry to give his worldly belongings to a neighbor. First a Koran. Then bags of vegetables. Finally a mattress, clothing and odds and ends from his bare one-room flat. "I'm not going to need them," he told the neighbor, Patricia Villa. He was going to Iraq, he said, or maybe to Afghanistan. That was just one of many small and enigmatic details to emerge Friday about Major Hasan, the... (GunPolicy.org)

OTTAWA — New quarterly figures posted on the RCMP's website reveal not just increased police use of the controversial firearms registry, but increased civilian use as well, meaning more guns in the hands of Canadians are being legally registered. At the end of September, 7.46 million firearms were registered, up from 7.36 million at the end of last year. Of that total, 6.7 million are non-restricted long guns, such as rifles and shotguns, up from 6.6 million at the... (GunPolicy.org)

The tragic shootings in Fort Hood, Texas, have drawn attention again to the frightening availability of guns in the US — a staggering 97 guns for every 100 people. Although the killings took place on an army base, neither of the pistols used were army-issue. And the state of Texas, ranked 27th by a gun control lobby group in terms of the ease with which guns can be bought, has no requirement that handgun buyers obtain a licence or undergo any type of safety training.... (GunPolicy.org)

A former Army sergeant, Paul Alexander, who made guns for gangs operating in Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham, has been jailed indefinitely. Detectives said Alexander, 53, was a "significant" supplier and had been tracked down following the launch of an operation against gangs in the wake of the shooting of 11-year-old Rhys Jones in Liverpool two years ago. Police said they found a gun factory at a house Alexander rented in Bardfield Saling, Essex and his weapons... (GunPolicy.org)

A city transit cop who killed his fiancée in a jealous rage on a street in Queens was sentenced yesterday to 25 years to life. Using his NYPD-issued 9mm Glock, Harry Rupnarine, 39, shot Guiatree Hardat in the back of the head at close range in May 2007 after they argued on Atlantic Avenue in Woodhaven. Rupnarine, who was off duty at the time, claimed two would-be robbers surprised him and he accidentally shot 22-year-old Hardat while trying to fend off the attack.... (GunPolicy.org)