FN Five-seveN Herstal!
Herstal makes the FN Five-seveN that Maj Nidal Malik Hasan allegedly used at Fort Hood. Critics call it a cop killer, but are they right? The FN Five-seveN (aka the FN 5.7 or FN 57) is a 5.7 MM pistol and comes as the Five-seveN ODG, Five-seveN FDE, and Five-seveN USG.
An AP report Friday states:
“Gun control advocates call it a “cop killer” weapon because that ammo can pierce bulletproof vests, and its use by Mexican drug cartels worries police.”
But is that really the case? The report doesn’t specify what type of ammunition was used. “The most powerful type of ammunition for the FN 5.7 gun is available only to law enforcement and military personnel. …. It is not clear what kind of ammunition was used in the Fort Hood attack.”
Herstal says of the Five-seveN the following:
“The FN Five-seveN® USG single-action autoloading …. sets a new benchmark for …. performance. Firing the low-recoil, high-velocity 5.7×28mm cartridge, the Five-seveN features a textured, ergonomic polymer frame with checkered panels for enhanced grip. Operating controls are placed for easy access with a reversible magazine release and ambidextrous manual safety levers. … Models are available with matte black, olive drab or flat dark earth frames. Sight options include adjustable three dot target sights or fixed C-More Systems™ day or night combat sights. “
So how did Major Nidal Malik Hasan get an FN5.7 before his attack at Fort Hood? The Five Seven was the subject of a U.S. federal ban in 2005 that failed. On Friday, AP reported sources that Hasan bought the FN 5.7 at a store in Kileen, Texas months ago.
Erin Andrews
Crystal Harris
Shannon Twins
Ikki Twins
on November 7th, 2009 at 8:19 am
FN Five-seven Herstal! - LALATE (blog) http://bit.ly/1yNVED
on November 7th, 2009 at 8:20 am
FN Five-seven Herstal! - LALATE (blog) http://bit.ly/1yNVED
on November 7th, 2009 at 7:04 pm
With 11 years experience in the military and law enforcement, I laugh when I hear the term “cop killer gun/bullets” because the term is synonymous with the under-educated anti-gun pundits. The FN 5-7 pistol may have a 20 round magazine capacity, but the terminal ballistics for the round are dismal. The .40 caliber pistols that the police use are tremendously more effective. The RESTRICTED armor piercing ammo that you mention is only available to law enforcement agencies and special operations military units. Individual cops and soldiers cannont purchase it. It was not available to Mr. Hasan. Commercial ammunition has been verified by BATF to NOT penetrate police level IIIA Police body armor. The push to ban this pistol was based entirely on hype and not reality.
on November 7th, 2009 at 8:59 pm
I am SOOOO sick and tired when someONE shoots someone with ANYthing nowadays we have all these people coming out of the wood work trying to ban this/that or the other. When are we as a society going to start letting people be resposible for thier actions, and not the devices they use?!? Had Mr. Hasan used a FORD F-150 to plow into a crowd of people would we push FORD to stop making truck? I know my analogy souns silly but WAKE UP America….We are slowly losing grip on the reality of life. Let’s stick to the facts. We have a TRAINED military man on a MILITARY base. He could have done worse. Thank GOD he did not.
on November 8th, 2009 at 2:43 am
The FN Five-Seven shoots a small diameter bullet being equivalent in size to a common .22 long rifle round but the hyper velocity of the five-seven round makes it more lethal.
I believe that the fatalities would have been much higher if Hasan had chosen a semi-automatic pistol with a larger and heavier projectile ie. 357Sig or 9×23.
Just thank God that this medical officer didn’t have access to a full auto M16.
My question is, why does the military enlist Muslims and then prohibit them from leaving the service?
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on November 9th, 2009 at 11:20 am
NE has an error in his analysis. The gun was fired at close range and with so little recoil a man with hands as strong as Hassan had it was easy to hit everyone he has pointed at as easy as clicking a mouse at the computer.
on November 9th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
bleble also makes an error in assumption in his/her statement. Anyone trained to properly use a pistol can hit the target, especially at close range, regardless of the caliber of round.
Any argument that this gun, or any gun for that matter, should be banned only proves that gun control supporters have no real grip on reality. The only people you will be preventing from purchasing a weapon legally are the law abiding citizens, criminals will still be able to get guns from illegal sources.
Yes, there are the RARE occasion such as this, but as Carlos Rodriguez stated, and to go a step further, there are people who have DELIBERATELY used a vehicle to kill someone, should we ban automobiles now? A woman in the 90’s stabbed her infant to death with scissors, guess we should ban those as well! Let’s not forget all the people who have been bludgeoned to death with baseball bats, so much for the national past time!
on November 11th, 2009 at 9:36 pm
Something people don’t realize is the building he did it in was just so perfect. I’ve been to that exact building a few times when we got back from our deployment, its extreamly crowded with very few exits. The gun he used and his training (officers are usualy crappy shots anyways) have nothing to do with the death rate. In that building you could shoot in any random direction and you’ll hit somebody. Then as people scramble for the exit alls youd have to do is shoot into the mob of people trying to get out the door.