Assault-weapon attacks on rise in Miami

[Aceq2jot]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070914/ap_ ... GC3UOs0NUE

If you read towards the bottom they say you can get an assault rifle for $200. Could some one please tell me where i can buy these???


MIAMI - The spray of bullets that killed a police officer and hurt three others this week came from something increasingly common on this city's streets: a high-powered assault weapon, fast becoming the gun of choice for gang members and violent criminals.



And when the guns, once found solely in the hands of soldiers, are aimed at officers on patrol, there's little authorities can do to escape.

"It's almost like we have water pistols going up against these high-powered rifles," said John Rivera, president of the Dade County Police Benevolent Association. "Our weaponry and our bulletproof vests don't match up to any of those types of weapons."

Federal officials don't compile statistics on the number of crimes involving assault weapons like the AK-47, and municipalities' numbers across the country are patchwork. But in Miami, at least, there are signs it is becoming a major problem.

In 2005, the Miami-Dade Police Department reported two homicides involving an assault rifle; last year there were 10. That agency covers numerous unincorporated areas in the nation's eighth-largest county, but not its biggest cities, which have their own police forces.

The Miami Police Department said 15 of its 79 homicides last year involved assault weapons, up from the year before. This year, already 12 of the 60 homicides have involved the high-power guns.

"We've noticed an increase in the amount of assault weapons that we've seen on the street, and certainly the amount that have been used in murders and other shootings," said Detective Delrish Moss. "And it seems to be increasing every year."

Police do not yet know where the 25-year-old suspect in Thursday's shooting of the Miami-Dade officers got his weapon. Shawn Sherwin Labeet was found hours later and 30 miles from the crime scene. Police said they shot and killed him after he refused to drop his firearm.

On Friday, officers arrested four people accused of aiding Labeet. Alba Bello, 47; her son, Alain Gonzalez, 24; and Bello's boyfriend, Lazaro Guardiola, 35, were charged with accessory after the fact on suspicion of harboring the killer. Labeet's girlfriend, Renee Dangelo, 26, was charged with giving police false information.

The rising number of deaths by assault weapons reflects growing availability of the weapons and their elevation to a status symbol among gang members, said Carlos Baixauli, an agent with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

"In the early '80s to '90s, it was more common to have a handgun in your waistband and the bigger the caliber, the more powerful you were," Baixauli said. "Now it's escalated to the assault weapons."

Another issue potentially at play is the 2004 expiration of the federal assault weapons ban, 10 years after its passage. The legislation outlawed 19 types of guns, including the semiautomatic AK-47.

The guns are readily available on streets, Baixauli said, or can be ordered by mail for under $200.

Shootings involving assault weapons were among the reasons U.S. Attorney R. Alexander Acosta set up an anti-gang task force of federal, state and local law enforcement officials this year. He assigned 15 federal prosecutors, led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ben Greenberg, to the effort.

"These bullets are very powerful: they go through walls, they go through cars, and if you just spray the general vicinity you're going to get innocent bystanders," Acosta said. "A shooting that might have been an injury previously is now a death."

Kevin Morison of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund said his organization is considering tracking when assault weapons are involved in police shootings. Officer shootings had been on a downturn until this year.

More U.S. police officers were killed while on duty in the first six months of 2007 — 101 — than during any such period since 1978, according to the organization.

Rivera pleaded for leaders to allow police to carry higher-power weapons — though not necessarily as strong as some already on the street — and provide stronger protective vests.

"Give us a fighting chance," he said.

Police officials said they were bogged down with the aftermath of the shootings and unable to respond to Rivera's comments.

They did say they were trying to cope with the loss of Officer Jose Somohano.

The Miami-Dade department was helping to plan the funeral, and Officer Jody Wright was recovering from a gunshot wound to the right leg, said Cmdr. Linda O'Brien. The other two officers were treated and released.

"Anytime a fellow officer has been killed, it destroys us," O'Brien said. "It's almost got no words to it. Your blood just runs cold."

[onebohemian]

If you read towards the bottom they say you can get an assault rifle for $200. Could some one please tell me where i can buy these???

I get the ads from SOG and a couple other surplus/CCR-type dealers each month or so. There's typically variants of AKs and ARs in those in the $200 to $400 range. Each time I see the ads I think I wish I knew more about AKs so that I could order a half-ways decent one at these prices. I never follow-through and do the research to figure it out though. Next time an ad comes, I'll dig through it to specifically look for anything under $200. Regardless, these rifles still need to be transferred through a local FFL though, at least when purchased from one of these reputable dealers.

[hammAR]

I need to find out more about these high-powered assault weapons,
I feel out gunned with a normal assault weapon.....
and for only $200, boy did I get screwed..................

.

[chunkstyle]

I haven't seen an AK on SOG under $300 for a VERY long time. But they might be talking about SKS, which can be had for under $200. Hardly "high-powered", though.

[1911fan]

I had posted a reponse to this which seems to have disappeared into the ethers.

I have seen some Romanian AK's under 300 bucks earlier in the summer, and some one had SKS's for about 129 a month ago. In the Media's eye, these could be construed at assault rifles.

X39 ammo, when loaded with the steel core junk that is readily available, will indeed zip right thru car bodies etc.

[someone1980]

X39 ammo, when loaded with the steel core junk that is readily available, will indeed zip right thru car bodies etc.

Any rifle bigger then a .223 will cut right through the body of a car.

See The Buick of Truth.
http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/thebuickotruth.htm

[White Horseradish]

"These bullets are very powerful: they go through walls, they go through cars, and if you just spray the general vicinity you're going to get innocent bystanders," Acosta said. "A shooting that might have been an injury previously is now a death."

Somebody's been watching Johnny Dangerously again.

"It's an 88 Magnum. It shoots through schools."

From the same movie:"This goes through armor. And through the victim, through the wall, through a tree outside..."

[onebohemian]

I haven't seen an AK on SOG under $300 for a VERY long time. But they might be talking about SKS, which can be had for under $200. Hardly "high-powered", though.

I think Chunkstyle is right. This topic got my interest up so I did some research online. Couldn't find any old ads lying around the house. Best price I found people stating you could get an AK fir was $299. (Apparently there's a place called Durham's Sports (sp?) that has/had WASR10s this week (recently?) for $299.00. JGSales has kits for that price but no built rifles. Lots more in the 300 to 400 range. Many, many more above those prices.

I think Chuckstyle's also correct in thinking maybe the paper was talking about SKSs. Those things are everywhere for 100 to 200 bucks (e.g, check JGsales).

Side note. Based on all the reading I did last night, I actually feel like I may now know enough to start my search. Need to do more research to narrow down the choices, but I think the bug has bitten a little harder this time than when I've thought about these before. Maybe we need a new topic just to discuss AKs???? Does somebody who owns a couple and could help the rest of us newbies out want to start one?

[Konaseven]

SOG has;
AK's for 289.95 - 429.95
SKS's for 129.95 - 159.95

[onebohemian]

I spent some time over at akforum.net. This same topic is being discussed over there. Those guys concur that nobodies buying AKs for $200. Maybe kits but no complete builds. They then got into a big argument about whether SKSs are "assault weapons" or not, so the thread went off topic and I lost interest.

I'd still like to get more info from any local guys that have AKs. Maybe meet at a range sometime so I can try one out. I need a crash course with hands-on explanations on what to look for when searching to buy one of these at gun shows, etc.

Thanks,