Latest news with #SigSauer
CTV News
5 days ago
- CTV News
Moose, vehicle collision on Hwy. 69 leads police to find weapons, drugs
Police discovered 250 grams of suspected fentanyl, 33 gram of cannabis not in its original packaging, a Sig Sauer P320 9 mm handgun with an extended magazine and 16 rounds of ammunition. Two 16-year-olds from Scarborough, Ont., have been charged following a collision with a moose May 24 near Parry Sound. Anishinabek Police Service responded to the crash, with the Ontario Provincial Police and the fire department in Britt. The moose and vehicle collided on Highway 69 in Wallbridge Township. No one was injured. 'Fresh burnt cannabis' 'After detecting a strong odour of fresh burnt cannabis emanating from the vehicle, officers searched the vehicle and occupants,' Anishinabek police said in a news release Monday. Police discovered 250 grams of suspected fentanyl, 33 grams of cannabis not in its original packaging, a Sig Sauer P320 9 mm handgun with an extended magazine and 16 rounds of ammunition. 'The firearm was concealed and unholstered in the waistband of one of the occupants of the vehicle, had no manual safety, and had nothing physically preventing the firearm from being unintentionally discharged,' police said. Both 16-year-olds were charged with drug trafficking and a weapons offence. One of the teens was also charged with other weapons offences, including carrying a concealed weapon, possession of a weapon obtained by crime and careless use of a firearm. The accused were both held in custody pending a bail hearing. 'This incident serves as a sobering reminder of the dangers faced by first responders on a daily basis,' Julie Craddock, deputy chief of Anishinabek police, said in the news release. 'I'm grateful that both suspects were taken into custody without harm to public safety.' Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact investigators at 705-865-2868. To remain anonymous, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), or online.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Yahoo
The smoking gun - Former HPPD officer claims in lawsuit that pistol fired on its own
HIGH POINT Did a controversial handgun carried by a High Point Police officer discharge accidentally two years ago, without the officer ever putting his hand on the trigger? The gun's manufacturer says that's impossible, but the recently retired officer — who was shot in the leg with his own service weapon during the incident — claims otherwise. Former officer Vincent Panico, an 18-year veteran of the High Point Police Department who retired April 1, is one of dozens of plaintiffs listed in a mass legal action filed against firearms manufacturer Sig Sauer two months ago. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in New Hampshire, where Sig Sauer is headquartered. The lawsuit alleges that Sig Sauer's popular P320 handgun — which the suit describes as 'the most dangerous pistol sold in the United States market' — has no external safety mechanism and 'is susceptible to unintended discharges, meaning instances when a gun fires without user intent, at an alarmingly high rate.' The suit lists dozens of alleged 'unintended discharge' incidents across the country — going as far back as 2015 — in which users claim they did not pull the trigger. In many cases, the gun's user was injured. In other cases, someone else nearby was injured, including a Michigan schoolteacher who was shot in the neck. In Pennsylvania, a state trooper was killed — ironically, during a safety training session — when a fellow trooper's gun allegedly fired without a trigger pull. Some of the incidents were recorded on officers' body cameras or on security cameras. Among those dozens of incidents is that of Panico, a 48-year-old Kernersville resident with extensive firearms experience. Prior to his 18 years with HPPD, he served five years with the Durham Police Department. He's also a former combat Marine who deployed to Iraq. The shooting incident occurred on the afternoon of April 24, 2023 — during the heart of the spring High Point Market — in the Commerce Avenue parking lot at City Hall. Security-camera footage provided by Panico's attorney shows the officer exiting his police vehicle just before the holstered gun discharges. 'His hands were not on the gun,' said the attorney, Robert W. Zimmerman of Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky, a personal injury firm in Philadelphia. 'The holstered weapon shot a round into his leg. It entered his right thigh area, traveled down his leg and blew out around his knee.' Panico, who was not made available for an interview, was taken to High Point Medical Center. He did not require surgery but lost a significant amount of blood, had nerve damage and was traumatized by the incident, according to Zimmerman. 'This was a painful experience for him, both physically and emotionally,' he said. 'He relied on his weapon to protect himself, to protect the community, and when you have a product that you rely upon to protect you that does the exact opposite and causes injury, it really impacted him physically and emotionally. It made his ability to perform his work tasks that much more difficult. You need to be able to have confidence and rely upon your duty weapon, and this really shook him.' Like Panico, the majority of the plaintiffs are law enforcement officers well-trained in the use of firearms, but that makes no difference with a defective weapon, Zimmerman said. 'A gun shouldn't fire in its holster without a hand touching the trigger,' said Zimmerman, who said he's aware of some 350 unintended discharges of the pistol. According to Zimmerman, the P320 is a striker-fired pistol rather than hammer-fired and has an extremely short trigger pull. Sig Sauer also failed to put an external safety on the gun, he added. 'Sig's competitors put one or sometimes even two external safeties on this type of gun to make sure a slight or short trigger movement that would cause the gun to fire doesn't occur,' he explained. 'Our claims are that the Sig Sauer is defectively designed and that it lacked a manual thumb safety and/or a trigger safety.' Furthermore, the suit claims that even when incidents of unintended discharges began to be reported, Sig Sauer stubbornly refused to recall the controversial pistol, 'despite knowing of scores of grievous wounds inflicted upon users and bystanders.' The company has staunchly defended the embattled P320, even posting a defiant denial on its website in March: 'The P320 CANNOT, under any circumstances, discharge without a trigger pull — that is a fact,' the statement reads in part. 'The allegations against the P320 are nothing more than individuals seeking to profit or avoid personal responsibility. ... In all cases, these individuals have an ulterior motive behind their baseless allegations that the P320 can fire without a trigger pull; they have no evidence, no data and no empirical testing to support any of their claims. They instead choose to misrepresent clear, negligent discharges as a 'design problem.' ' Zimmerman denied his clients are simply looking to make a profit. 'I feel bad that Sig Sauer is accusing my clients of having ulterior motives when their primary motivation is simply to make sure this doesn't happen to another 350 individuals,' he said. 'Sig Sauer is looking to blame the victims rather than looking at what other gun manufacturers do.' Although some law enforcement departments across the country have stopped using the P320, others — including the N.C. State Highway Patrol and its more than 1,500 sworn officers — have not. 'As an agency,' said 1st Sgt. Christopher Knox, public information officer for the Highway Patrol, 'we are continuously in review of our training practices, internal policies and issued equipment to ensure that we are providing the very best in law enforcement services to our state.' 'With that being said, over the course of approximately eight years of using the first and second generations of this firearm, we have experienced zero spontaneous discharges and are not currently looking to move away from its deployment.' Officers with the Thomasville Police Department and the Davidson County Sheriff's Department also utilize the P320, as well as another Sig Sauer pistol, the P365, according to department spokesmen. The High Point Police Department, which began issuing the P320 to officers in 2015, stopped using the weapon in the fall of 2024, about a year and a half after Panico's incident, according to department spokesperson Victoria Ruvio. Officers now carry the Sig Sauer M17, a 9-millimeter pistol with an external thumb safety, she said. 'Every seven or eight years, the High Point Police Department reviews its equipment, including firearms,' Ruvio explained. 'The most recent review found it would be difficult to get replacement parts for the Sig P320. For that and other reasons, the department moved to the Sig M17 9mm with an external thumb safety.' When asked if HPPD dropped the P320 over safety concerns, Ruvio simply reiterated that after a thorough review process, the decision was made to switch to the Sig M17. It should be noted that no law enforcement departments, including HPPD, are named as defendants in the lawsuit against Sig Sauer. 'We see no culpability (for the departments),' Zimmerman said. 'We simply want law enforcement departments to have information so that each can make the best decision for its officers.'
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
Army's next generation rifle designated M7 amid criticism over performance
The Army has officially designated its newest rifle and automatic rifle the M7 and M250, respectively. The move, which the service touted as a 'major program milestone,' comes weeks after the Army's new rifle came in for some heavy criticism from within its own ranks. Both weapons have now received their type classification that confirms they met 'the Army's stringent standards for operational performance, safety, and sustainment,' the service announced this week. But an Army captain has raised serious questions about the Next Generation Squad Rifle — previously known as the XM7 — including whether the weapon's 20-round magazine provides soldiers with enough ammunition for combat. (The War Zone was the first to report on the criticism, and you can read their deep dive here.) 'The XM7 is a tactically outdated service rifle that would be better classified as a designated marksman rifle, if that,' Army Capt. Braden Trent said during his presentation at the Modern Day Marine exhibition in Washington, D.C., in late April. 'This rifle is a mechanically unsound design that will not hold up to sustained combat on a peer-on-peer conflict.' Trent conducted his research into the rifle as part of his project for the Marine Corps' Expeditionary Warfare School. His views are not endorsed by the Defense Department, Army, or Marine Corps, according to his 52-page research paper on the subject. Sig Sauer, which has been awarded a contract to produce the rifle, pushed back on Trent's assertion that the M7 is 'unfit for use as a modern service rifle.' 'We have a very large staff of individuals that work daily on that rifle to ensure that every aspect of its performance is scrutinized, every aspect of its safety is criticized,' Jason St. John, the senior director of strategic products for Sig Sauer, told Task & Purpose for a previous story. 'We are highly confident that we have provided the U.S. Army soldier with a very robust weapon system that is not only safe, but it performs at the highest levels.' Still, questions remain about whether the rifle, which chambers a 6.8mm round, has enough magazine capacity. The M7 is expected to replace the M4A1, which has a 30-round magazine. Trent said he observed a live-fire exercise in which soldiers equipped with the XM7 burned through most of their ammunition within 15 minutes while trying to suppress a simulated enemy, even though they had borrowed spare magazines from radio operations, medics, and platoon leaders. Brig. Gen. Phil Kinniery, commandant for the Army's Infantry School and Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning, Georgia, told Task & Purpose that commanding officers ultimately determine how much ammunition their units will carry into battle, and the traditional seven-magazine load could be adjusted. Kinniery also said that the Next Generation Squad Weapon rifle's larger round will give soldiers an advantage on the battlefield. 'From having been in several firefights throughout my career and deployments in Afghanistan and in Iraq, that [6.8mm round] round stops the enemy,' Kinniery said. 'What we're actually bringing to infantry soldiers or, really, the close combat force across the Army, is something that stops the enemy at one round versus having to shoot multiple rounds at the enemy to get them to stop.' Army to eliminate 2 Security Force Assistance Brigades, reassign experienced soldiers Why the Army's new XM7 rifle reignited a debate over volume of fire Air Force delay on separation and retirement orders isn't 'stop loss,' defense official says F-35's close call over Yemen raises questions about how it's used An Army unit's 'extreme use of profanity' was so bad, they made a rule about it
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Sig Sauer's XM7 Rifle Gets Army's Seal Of Approval Despite Controversy
Sig Sauer's controversial 6.8x51mm XM7 service rifle has now received a formal standard type classification, with the official designation changing to M7. This is a vote of confidence for the weapon weeks after an Army captain publicly criticized the rifle as potentially unsafe, ineffective, and overly expensive, claims that the service and Sig Sauer subsequently vehemently rebutted. You can read more about that in our deep dive here. Along with the M7, Sig Sauer's XM250 light machine gun (now designated the M250) achieved Type Classification-Standard status, the Army announced yesterday. The service described this as a 'major program milestone' for the Next Generation Squad Weapons (NGSW) program, which includes both guns, as well as the XM157 computerized optic and the accompanying family of 6.8x51mm ammunition. This new status means the weapons meet 'the Army's stringent standards for operational performance, safety, and sustainment,' per the Army. 'This milestone reflects our commitment to delivering cutting-edge capabilities that give our Soldiers the tactical advantage and lethality required on the battlefield,' said Col. Jason Bohannon, Project Manager Soldier Lethality. 'We remain focused on equipping our force with the most reliable and effective tools to ensure mission success.' The new classification for these weapons ensures that they are 'acceptable for Army use prior to spending procurement funds at the Full-Rate Production Decision Review,' Alton E. Stewart, an Army spokesman, told TWZ Wednesday afternoon. It 'satisfies DoD requirement to designate when a system is approved for service use.' Army combat experiences from the Global War on Terror, especially operations in Afghanistan, where reports often emerged of U.S. forces being outranged, helped drive the core requirement for guns firing larger rounds that offer greater range and terminal ballistic performance. Concerns about improving adversary body armor were also a factor. The M7 and the M250, respectively, are set to replace a significant portion of the M4A1 carbines and M249 Squad Automatic Weapons (SAW) now in Army service. Both the M4A1 and M249 are chambered to fire the 5.56x45mm cartridge. As we previously explained, the M7 is 'a 6.8x51mm version of Sig Sauer's increasingly popular MCX Spear family of rifles. Though Sig's MCX family is a separate development, the core design is derived from the AR-15/M16 pattern family of rifles, and upper receivers from certain versions of the former can be directly paired with lower receivers from the latter with the help of an adapter. The overall configurations of guns in both families are very similar, as are the basic ergonomics and control arrangements.' 'MCX rifles notably use a gas piston operating mechanism rather than the direct impingement method found on AR-15/M16 types. Direct impingement (DI) involves propellant gases directly blowing into the main action to cycle it, which can more quickly lead to fouling on key components without regular cleaning. Piston systems that keep gas away from a gun's internal works can offer improved overall reliability in certain circumstances, although they tend to be heavier than their DI counterparts.' The Army's new designation of these weapons won't affect how they are being fielded, Stewart told us, but it serves to further rebut a scathing critique by Army Capt. Braden Trent. He presented his findings, which come from an unclassified student thesis, at the annual Modern Day Marine exposition in Washington, D.C., on April 29. The Army infantry officer did his work while attending the Expeditionary Warfare School, part of the Marine Corps University in Quantico, Virginia. What is now designated the M7 has suffered from serious reliability and other issues, including having cartridge cases 'ripped apart by the internal pressure of the system,' excessive barrel wear, and regular breakages of key components, Trent stated. He claimed that these problems, together with a host of other factors, including the weight and recoil of the rifle, make the gun 'unfit' for its intended purpose. Trent said he observed and/or learned of several other serious technical issues after being given the chance to interview 'over 150 soldiers, maintainers, and leaders,' as well as inspect a sample set of 23 XM7 rifles, all from the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division. The brigade's 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment was the first operational Army unit to begin receiving XM7s and the rest of the NGSW family of systems. In an interview with TWZ on the symposium's show floor, Sig Sauer vociferously pushed back on Trent's assertions. 'I believe that Captain Trent had some shortcomings and difficulties in understanding the totality of the NGSW program and some significant blind spots into the progress that the NGSW program has made over the last let's call it 24 months,' Jason St. John, senior director of strategic products for the Defense Strategies Group at Sig Sauer, told us. 'By him not having any clarity on any of the engineering change proposal efforts, and understanding of the 101st [Airborne Division's] fielding efforts, the actual pacing of the program … and really the ongoing product improvement efforts that the program office and Sig Sauer are doing in concert with each other, really clouded his perspective, and I believe his opinions that he represented. There are significant misrepresentations and holes in those statements [that he made].' In 2022, the Army awarded Sig Sauer a 10-year, $20.4 million initial production contract to produce M7s and M250s, following a 27-month evaluation of three competing weapon systems. By that point, more than 500 soldiers, Marines, and special operators had conducted a combined 20,000 hours of testing as part of the NGSW program, according to the Army. As of last year, the Army said its 'acquisition objectives' included the purchase of 111,428 M7s and 13,334 M250s. 'It's an exciting day for everyone involved, whether that is Sig Sauer, the U.S. Army as a whole, and especially the soldiers, who can have confidence that they are being equipped to enhance their mission success and truly possess tactical superiority in their small arms,' St. John told us Wednesday afternoon in an email. There is the possibility that other branches of the U.S. military could adopt the M7 in the future. At Modern Day Marine in April, the service noted that it had just recently completed an evaluation of the NGSW family of systems and had begun processing the results to determine what, if any, steps forward will be taken. For now, the primary arm of the Marines remains the M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle (IAR), which is, in turn, a variant of the HK416. The HK416 is a gas-piston derivative of the AR-15/M16 series. It is unclear whether or how the Army's type classification decision might affect the Marines' plans. We have reached out to the Corps and will update this story with any pertinent information provided. The Army is now continuing to move ahead with its plans to field what are now designated the M7 rifle and M250 light machine gun. Contact the author: howard@
CBS News
17-05-2025
- CBS News
Defense for Colorado man accused of shooting teenager says gun to blame
The defense for a Colorado man accused of shooting a 17-year-old in the face last September plans to put the onus on the weapon used. "He's absolutely sorry for what happened. It was a complete mistake. It was an unintentional firing of his weapon," said defense attorney David Jones. Jones and co-counsel Chris Decker plan to make the case that the weapon used by Brent Metz in a shooting along Pleasant Park Road in Conifer was faulty and misfired. The teen survived. CBS "The facts as we understand them are he was drawing it from his truck to place it on his hip, as he was turning, the weapon went off," said Decker. Metz is very familiar with weapons and regularly carries, said the attorneys. "He's been a concealed weapon carrying permit for 18 years, he's got extensive experience with firearms," said Jones. The defense blames the functioning of the Sig Sauer P320 that Metz used. "There are a number of circumstances well documented where these weapons are going off without the intent or physical interaction of the person holding it," said Decker. "Should there be responsibility? Absolutely. And we feel that should fall on Sig Sauer." CBS There have been claims from some police officers that weapons have fired while holstered. In February, a federal judge in Georgia denied Sig Sauer's request for a new trial after a Georgia man was awarded $2.3 million after one of the P320s fired as he was holstering it. Sig Sauer did not reply to a request for comment on the allegations by Metz's attorneys. But last year, it did post a public statement about claims involving the P320. "Claims that the P320 is capable of firing without a trigger pull are without merit and have been soundly rejected as a matter of law." Still, the company did offer a free update on the weapon in 2017 and redesigned some internal parts, including the sear, a part that holds back the striker until proper pressure is applied to the trigger. Metz's gun was produced after the change, admitted Decker. "Which we believe does not and did not solve the problem here," he said. Some police departments, including Denver, do not allow the use of the weapon. "The Denver Police Department Firearm Unit evaluated the Sig Sauer P320 platform and were able to recreate safety issues, which ultimately led the department to make what we believe to be a prudent decision to disallow DPD officers' use of this firearm platform," said DPD in reply to an emailed inquiry. The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office, the arresting agency in the Metz case, says its use of the P320 is under review. Deputies buy their own weapons, and about 8% use the P320. "We have had zero problems," said department spokesperson Jacki Kelley. CBS Metz, a town councilmember in Mountain View who is on leave after his arrest, faces a recall election next week. Whether the gun was faulty or not may not be the core issue of the case. The defense still has significant challenges, even if it claims the gun was faulty, says former prosecution attorney Raj Chohan. "Very likely the prosecution is going to say that's a bunch of nonsense, given all the context in place: pulling the vehicle in to block the other car from leaving, getting out, pointing the gun in the direction of the person who was shot, and then having the gun go off," said Cohan. Metz reportedly pulled his vehicle in front of the victim's car at an angle and got out, grabbing a gun off the seat. CBS The affidavit shows the other teenager in the car told the arriving deputy that Metz got out and walked toward their car. He "pulled a handgun from his holster and pointed it towards them," the teenager said, before it went off, firing a bullet through the windshield and into his companion's face. The 15-year-old said he heard Metz exclaim, "Oh _____, my gun went off." The defense says they will make the case that he was mistaken about the gun being pointed towards them. "We don't believe that's the case," said Jones. Among the gun safety rules published by the National Rifle Association, the first states, "Always keep the gun pointed in a safe direction. This is the primary rule of gun safety." At some point, the gun was pointed toward the victim to fire in that direction. Chohan believes the defense will have to put Metz on the stand to testify his version of events, which will open him to cross-examination. He said, "The question is going to be, why did you pull the gun to begin with? And if you didn't mean to use it, why was it out? And why did you block the car in?" The jury will have to weigh the motivation behind Metz's claims and any conflict with other testimony, particularly from the boys. "There's going to be some deference given to what they saw and what they remember. And the person who's got the most self-serving version of this is going to be the shooter," said Chohan. But he added that the defense is doing its job, going after the issue of intent, which is important for the most serious charge of assault in the second degree. The district attorney in Jefferson County had no comment, noting the case is pending. The next court date is in late June, and the trial will be beyond that. It will be up a judge or jury to decide the validity of the defense's arguments. "They're going to sit there and go, what makes more sense?" said Chohan.
