Unpossible
And there’s an awful lot of Tec-9 stuff lately:
A plainclothes police sergeant shot and killed an armed street peddler during a clash at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square Thursday morning, police sources said.
[…]
Sources said the sergeant shot the gunman, who was selling compact discs, after the suspect fired his own weapon, a loaded Tec-9 semi-automatic handgun.
That’s the second Tec 9 in a week in the press, which seems odd. I wonder if these are actually Kel-Tecs?
Update: AP says it’s a Mac-10 machine pistol. I still wonder why the press bothers identifying guns since they suck at it and usually get it wrong.
December 10th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
Well it’s good the bad guys like those guns since they seem to jam so easy, it makes it easier for the good guys
December 10th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
First article “updated at 3:20pm” from Tec-9 to “MAC-10 machine pistol with 27 bullets in the magazine.”
December 10th, 2009 at 4:52 pm
“MAC-10 machine pistol with 27 bullets in the magazine.”
pfft.
There are extended Glock magazines bigger than that.
December 10th, 2009 at 5:31 pm
Gotta whip the sheeple into a frenzy for AWB 2.0 somehow.
December 10th, 2009 at 5:40 pm
Well, at least they called the Tec-9 a “semi-automatic” pistol. As if they knew what that meant.
December 10th, 2009 at 5:41 pm
I note that the suspect “…fired his…loaded Tec-9…” as opposed to having fired an unloaded one I suppose, which would be something of a stunt. Good thing they made that distinction, or I’d be sitting here wondering; “He fired his gun, but was it actually loaded at the time he fired it…?”
Reminds me of the frequent use of “6:00 AM in the morning” so as to avoid anyone coming to the conclusion that it’s 6:00 AM in the evening, or 6:00 PM in the morning, being discussed.
I guess this is why we refer to “journalists” rather than, say, “educated, professional writers who document facts”. There is an important distinction.
December 10th, 2009 at 5:46 pm
As soon as I saw the ticker scroll I thought; “Unpossible” – there are no handguns in NYC.
December 10th, 2009 at 5:51 pm
And here it says it was a “Mac-10 semiautomatic machine pistol.”
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/10/police-shoot-man-at-hotel-in-times-square/
Also says :
December 10th, 2009 at 6:17 pm
For serious? Odd note.
December 10th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
WHy do the journos always think they need to tell what kind of weapon was used in a crime? Especially in NYC where all handguns are outlawed? We never hear about the brand or type of booze JoeBlow was drinking when arrested for driving drunk or causing a vehicular homicide. (/sarcasm)
December 10th, 2009 at 6:59 pm
I dunno Nate, I think it helps to paint the picture and is a relevant detail (if accurate).
December 10th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
A “street peddler”? With a semi-auto clone of a machine pistol? A NYC cop? And a NYC “journalist”? Well, I certainly believe everything they tell me.
December 10th, 2009 at 11:26 pm
Hey Unc–on my G1, and didn’t see an email right away, but wanted to let you know–plenty of pretty favorable coverage of a foiled armed robbery on the local Fox 5 and PIX/CW news on Long Island. Perps shot first, he returned fire, held one of them after taking a hit in the side. Got a gun for the jewelry store after being robbed the first time. Interviewed him (back at work) and let him talk–will be on Good Day NY (Fox) tomorrow AM. Will post a link if I see one–mainstream baby!
BTW Fox here is not like FNC. PIX anchor though had to say “that’s one way to think about it” after the story (which was pro defense)
December 10th, 2009 at 11:49 pm
Here’s a link — http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/local_news/long_island/091210-jeweler-back-to-work-after-getting-shot
They’ll probably have some video–
December 11th, 2009 at 2:57 am
Hey Uncle,
On this:
“I still wonder why the press bothers identifying guns since they suck at it and usually get it wrong.”
I can’t speak for that particular journalist, but I can say that every time our station identifies a weapon – we give it the label that the police themselves provided.
That includes the time we called it an “assault rifle” when clearly it was a shotgun. For better or worse, we generally expect that the LEO/spokesman giving us the info is giving us CORRECT info. 😉
Best 🙂
thorn
December 11th, 2009 at 10:22 am
Nate, in my town, whenever an SUV-like vehicle is involved in an accident, the newspaper reports the make and model. They don’t do this with semis, autos (see what I did there?), or motorcycles. Pretty obvious. It’s a public service.
The NRA or even the BATFE could lend the gentlemen of the press a gunny’s version of the PDR, but it would likely end up in the same place as their UPI stylebook & language usage guide.
Why? ‘Because they can.’
December 11th, 2009 at 11:22 am
So let’s get this straight. The guy or his contacts peruse the wares of various gun shops in VA to see what they’re going to steal…they steal it, and Der Fuhrer Bloomberg gets a new talking point about how Virginia (one of the least criminal infested states in the union) is responsible for crime?
Got it.
December 11th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
While there’s some fun to be had in bashing this thing called “the media”, remember that – as thorn says – news stories most often report what they are told by witnesses or by law enforcement. Reporters are generalists, and the gun story might be one of three of four they have to cover in a day. Witness says “it was an assault weapon” reporter writes “witness says it was assault weapon”. NYPD says CD guy had a MAC-10, the reporter goes with MAC-10, then moves on to cover city council, dog show, school board, writes holiday feature, covers trial, attends speech, writes weather story, goes to plane crash, goes to scene of another shooting or drug bust, cops and neighbors give quotes on “assault weapons” or cache of high powered rifles . . .
A reporter doing general daily assignments is limited to what their sources say. Perhaps more local gun clubs should do annual meets ups with reporters and do “Firearms 101” talks, or gun savvy reporters could help their co-workers along on these matters. As we all know, this is a very rich and deep field of study and interests, and there’s a lot to learn, so give a usually well meaning man or woman with a notepad or a camera some measure of understanding.