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Cops on alert for flashlight
guns BY ROCCO PARASCANDOLA NEWSDAY STAFF WRITER June 13, 2006 Narcotics cops investigating a drug crew in the Bronx
made a startling discovery -- a gun disguised as a flashlight, law enforcement
sources said. The recent find is the latest example of homemade weapons
popping up on city streets, Newsday has learned. Several police sources noted that the attention law
enforcement pays to removing illegal guns from the streets, has forced criminals
to improvise and find ways to conceal weapons. The disguised weapons, sources said, allow criminals,
particularly drug dealers, to stay armed without raising much
suspicion. The one-shot flashlight gun, as Police Commissioner Ray
Kelly noted in a departmental order issued last week to each NYPD command, "has
the appearance of a flashlight but is capable of firing a
round." "Officers should be cautioned to use extreme vigilance
and remain alert for dangerous weapons that may be disguised as ordinary items,"
Kelly's order stated. The flashlight gun was seized during a recent narcotics
raid in the Bronx. The NYPD would not provide more details about the seized
weapon because of the pending investigation. It was not clear if the flashlight
gun fires its bullet by flicking the on/off switch or by some other
means. The Pennsylvania Municipal Police Officers' Education
& Training Commission issued a similar alert recently about flashlight guns,
though the ones they warned about are slightly different than the ones the NYPD
highlighted. On its Web site, the commission warned of a working flashlight
capable of firing a .410 round as well as a miniature version, which fires a
.380 round. Police routinely update members of the force about new
developments on the streets in New York City and elsewhere, including disguised
weapons and tricks used by drug dealers to hide their
product. A recent missive described a rapid-fire pistol disguised
as a cell phone. The shooter, the order noted, could fire up to four
rounds by pressing the numbers 5, 6, 7 or 8. So far, this type of weapon has
been found only overseas. Other items turned from the pedestrian into the deadly,
not necessarily as guns, include combs and lipstick holders, all of which have
turned up in the city. One NYPD officer, Sgt. Craig Meissner, in 2002 detailed
in a book about hidden contraband numerous other makeshift weapons that look
like something out of a James Bond movie. The weapons, recovered by police in cities here and
abroad, include guns fashioned out of beepers and bike
pumps. Those are fairly ordinary compared to other items
Meissner discovered in his research. His list included cane guns and umbrella
guns, the latter of which could fire pellets dabbed with ricin, a lethal toxin.
Copyright 2006 Newsday Inc. http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/am-gun0613,0,5232477.story |
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