ST. LOUIS, MO — Two police officers were shot at Thursday around 7:30am in north St. Louis County. They were hit in the chest. Their bulletproof vest may have saved their lives. The officers are conscious and speaking.
The incident occurred in Bellefontaine Neighbors at the intersection of Chambers and Bellefontaine roads. One suspect is barricaded in a home in the 10100 block of Bellefontaine. He may be armed with an AR-15 rifle. Police appear to be negotiating with him.
Police were responding to the home after reports of shots fired in Bellefontaine Neighbors Wednesday night. The details in that police call are not known at this point. But, a man who lives at the home was identified as a person of interest in the report of gunfire.
Officers got into an altercation with the man at the home. They say he pulled out a handgun and shot both of the officers in their chests. Police returned fire and it isn’t known if the suspect was hit.
A staging area for first responders and media is set up at a church located a quarter of a mile away. There is a heavy police presence at Chambers and Bellefontaine. Traffic is closed to the neighborhoods surrounding the standoff. Many people saw officers from many police departments rush to the scene on I-70 during their commute.
Initial reports stated that the suspect was armed with a rifle. Investigators say the suspect is well known to police. They say the suspect may own an AR-15 rifle.
Reports indicate that both of the the officer’s injuries are minor. They were not taken to the hospital.
Two police officers shot in north St. Louis County; Suspect in custody
“….Reports indicate that both of the the officer’s injuries are minor. They were not taken to the hospital….”
I know there’s an ongoing debate regarding the effectiveness of the 5.56 NATO round being hashed out by people more knowledgeable than myself on this topic, but I believe it’s intended purpose was just to hit anything in a three-round burst fired by a recruit too scared to take careful aim.
Seems to me like too many people shot with this round are still hanging around to deliver a lot of return fire.
Just to clarify, these two pigs were shot with a handgun; they were saved by their vests. An AR-15 would have easily penetrated (unless they’d had rifle plates inserted in their vests).
As for the effectiveness of 5.56, it works just fine if you hit someone where he needs to be shot (preferably the head). And M855 green tip is about as good a round as most civilians can get for shooting through light armor (e.g., helmets, many handheld ballistic shields). Those who need less armor penetration but more tissue damage should consider the Barnes TSX rounds or Federal Fusion.
Actually,
The 55gr can go through the 3plate and 3a soft armour at the same time. Of course the barrel length, distance from the muzzle and ammo temp all make changes to effectiveness. They would have needed level 4 plates. Rare as they tend not to work for large rifles as good as level3.
The 62gr (slower)green tips deliver a bit more energy at farther distances as well as cause the bullet to yaw after entry to soft tissue. As far as penetration at typical combat ranges the 55gr is more effective but the 62 doesn’t over penetrate and causes a larger temporary stretch cavity.
I want to try the new m855a1. Very short neck. Large temp expansion cavity. The tip comes off for two wound channels. Way more lethal than either current versions at 250+. Seen one crono over 3200fps.
Ed, it’s true that lighter and faster 5.56 bullets can get through some Level 3 plates if they’re going fast enough (long barrel, close range), but ONLY if the plates are steel. You need M855 green tip to get through the newest hard polyethylene helmets and many shields. Those will stop just about any standard FMJ round up to .30-06 at least, and even mild steel core AK rounds won’t get through, but M855 will get through if it’s going fast enough.
No common round will go through a Level 4 ceramic plate. There are plates out there that will even stop .338 Lapua (unless you somehow have AP rounds for that).
Unless one has access to true AP rounds, the best way to deal with rifle armor is to know what areas of the body it covers and then shoot around it. In the meantime, armed citizens NEED to be looking into new ways of defeating armor.
yes, BMF, my mistake. Thanks for the correction.
No sweat, JR.
5.56 was mostly designed to wound
this way instead of out right killing the guy and only taking out 1 person
you have wounded him, effectively taking 2, 3 maybe even 4 men out of the fight to tend to that 1 wounded man
and as BMF stated, if you know how to aim, and make a good head, neck or femoral artery hit .. that dude is done
If the target is hardened , as in vest , plates, and other ballistic protection making a center mass hit , 9xout of 10 he will feel it, but it wont permanently take him out of the fight. Thats why good technique in hitting a target repetitively the size of a grapefruit is very significant with that round , its doable too..but in a panic or without good training and skills ..not something everyone can do
the ONLY reason the AR15 is even mentioned in this story,,,. is to demonize it , and to get it on the docket of removal from “civilian hands and ownership”
Actually, it’s a myth that 5.56 was designed to wound. It was designed to be as lethal as possible, but it makes some compromises in effectiveness in order to allow more ammo to be carried.
Some 5.56 hunting bullets are very lethal indeed. Barnes TSX and Federal Fusion rounds are a couple of good examples. These also do well against barriers, though they aren’t as good as M855 against hard polyethylene armor.
I totally agree about the need for accuracy. It just can’t be stressed enough. We should all set *unreasonable* standards of accuracy for ourselves and then work tirelessly to achieve them.
I musta got fed some bad Intel
But even so , that’s not what this is really about
It’s about getting the 1 thing they want out of our hands
And that is guns
And they fear the living shit out of the AR-15 ( their poor excuse for an “assault weapon” of choice )
To them it’s not about truth or reality
It’s about control
He may have had an ar15 rifle.
Lol
No shit. Who doesn’t have one these days. As low as 300 bucks for a new one and iv e seen someone buy a pawn one for 150. Lots of 1700$ ones out there too.
I bet he owned a comb
Ooh ooh
He may have mail clippers.
I know
He may have sun glasses.
Let me know when he has a walther ccp. Then we can talk about something interesting. Like fixed barrel delayed blow back concealed carry pistol. Or some old Finnish m39. The rifle that staved off Russia invasion.
Hahaha I hear ya boss
Wait until they piss off someone with a 240B
“Reports indicate that both of the the officer’s injuries are minor.”
All too often.