Was it Wayne LaPierre of the NRA who first stated that, “Weapons do not kill folks; folks kill folks?” It would not matter. Certain, it is a catchy protection for the gun foyer. However with regards to the favored SIG Sauer P320 — the standard-issue sidearm for the US army – it’s within the truth the gun, and never the folks, who do the taking pictures, based on a latest investigation by The Hint and The Washington Publish. Since 2016, the P320 has been concerned in at the least 100 shootings wherein no human particular person truly pulled the set off. These “unintended discharges” have resulted in additional than 80 particular person accidents on report, together with 33 legislation enforcement officers, though fortuitously nobody has been killed but.
From the report:
Interviews with greater than a dozen victims, video recordings, and a overview of 1000’s of pages of court docket paperwork and inside police data reveal a sample of discharges that have been alleged to have occurred throughout routine actions. These have included the holstering or unholstering of the P320, climbing out of automobiles and strolling down stairs. In a number of instances, data and movies present, the gun fired when a sufferer’s hand was nowhere close to it.
Navy veteran and former gunner’s mate Dionicio Delgado stated his P320 fired a bullet by his thigh and into his calf after he holstered it throughout a coaching session at a gun vary in Ruther Glen, Virginia. Michael Parker, a welder, stated his holstered P320 fired a bullet into his thigh as he eliminated the holster from his pocket whereas in his automobile in St. Petersburg, Florida. Police officer Brittany Hilton stated her holstered P320 fired whereas inside her purse as she walked to her automobile in Bridge Metropolis, Texas. The bullet entered her groin and exited her again simply inches from the bottom of her backbone.
In a written response to questions, SIG Sauer, based mostly in Newington, New Hampshire, denied that the P320 was able to firing and not using a set off pull and cited accounts of unintentional discharges with different firearms as proof that such points with the P320 are neither unusual nor suggestive of a defect with the gun.
Because the reporters dig into the thriller shootings, it actually feels like an issue within the mechanical design of the handgun. Sadly, the report additionally notes that firearms are exempt from federal shopper security rules — so even when somebody can show definitively that SIG Saeur has been promoting a faulty product, it would not truly imply something, legally talking.
Considered one of America’s Favourite Handguns Is Allegedly Firing On Its Homeowners [Champe Barton and Tom Jackson / The Trace & The Washington Post]
