FORT HOOD SHOOTING

Pistol linked to attack called powerful, concealable

5.7mm handgun called 'an assault rifle that fits in your pocket.'

By Mike Ward
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Saturday, November 07, 2009

A 5.7-millimeter pistol identified Friday as the weapon used in the Fort Hood shooting rampage is a type dubbed "an assault rifle that fits in your pocket" and is known for its ability to pierce body armor and for its growing use by Mexican drug cartels. One military expert said it was a weapon that no doctor — not even a military one — would normally carry.

Published reports quoting law enforcement officials and official records said an FN 5.7 allegedly used by Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, identified by military authorities as the suspect in Thursday's attack, was purchased at Guns Galore in Killeen weeks and perhaps months earlier.

The store's Web site says it has been in business since 1999, stocking more than 3,000 firearms "for all hunting, recreational and gun collectors needs."

A call to the store Friday went unanswered.

But Austin gun store employees said the weapon could have been easily purchased — by passing a background check with a three-day waiting period required by federal law.

They said a soldier with no criminal history would have had little problem buying such a pistol. Because handgun-

permit records in Texas are not public, Department of Public Safety officials said they could not say whether Hasan had a concealed-carry license.

Manufactured by the Belgium-based FN Herstal, the FN FiveSeveN pistol was heavily criticized when it was introduced in the United States about five years ago because it was designed to fire bullets through body armor. Critics sought to block its sale.

The weapon is lightweight and easily concealed, and it is designed as a military sidearm to complement military rifles made by the same company, according to Web reviews of the weapon.

According to the company Web site, it has an ammunition magazine capacity of 20 rounds and a "NATO-recommended caliber," meaning it takes ammunition compatible with that used by militaries in the alliance.

Though the type of ammunition used in Thursday's attack was not immediately known, investigators and news reports confirmed that the most powerful type of ammunition for the FN 5.7 is available only to law enforcement and military personnel. Budd Hallberg, a retired Army lieutenant colonel with 31 years of military service, said an unanswered question is why Hasan would have had such a weapon.

"It's a weapon to be used in combat," said Hallberg, a former infantry officer who lives in Gettysburg, Pa., expressing shock and sadness at the tragedy. "What in the hell would a doctor have it for?"

According to the Brady Campaign handgun-control group, some Washington lawmakers sought a ban on civilian possession of the pistol amid warnings from police organizations that it "represented a unique threat to the safety of police officers."

"An assault rifle that fits in your pocket" is how one law enforcement official described the pistol in earlier Congressional testimony.

When first introduced for civilian sales, according to the Brady Campaign, the FN Web site touted that "enemy personnel, even wearing body armor can be effectively engaged up to 200 meters. Kevlar helmets and vests ... will be penetrated."

The company's Web site contained no such claims Friday.

mward@statesman.com

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