Jonathan Pearson, invaded a home occupied by four children and a mother and escaped with a handful of cash Saturday

Gun-wielding man who invaded a home occupied by four children and a mother and escaped with a handful of cash Saturday night was arrested this afternoon.Latasha Smith spotted the suspect, Jonathan Pearson, across the street just before noon today and recognized him as her assailant, according to a report from the Volusia County Sheriff's Office. She immediately called 911. Deputies responded to 1213 David Drive and took Pearson into custody for questioning. He was then arrested and transported to the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach.Saturday's incident happened about 8:30 p.m. at 1212 David Drive. Smith, 29, told sheriff's deputies she was in a bedroom when she heard a crashing noise from the front door. Smith said she ran into the living room to find Preston pointing a gun at her 13-year-daughter, the report states.Preston turned the gun on Smith and demanded money and ordered mother and daughter to get down on the floor, the report states.Smith quickly handed over some money and Preston fled out the front door, the report states.No shots were fired and no one was injured. There were three other children in the home -- a 5-year-old, a 6-year-old, and a 2-month-old.Deputies and officers from the Daytona Beach and Holly Hill police departments, as well as a Sheriff's Office helicopter and a K-9 unit searched for the man without success, according to the report.Smith told investigators that she believed the same man had knocked on her door about two hours earlier and asked for someone who didn't live there. She had not opened the door at that time, only speaking to him through a window in the door. He had apologized for bothering her and left.Just before noon today, Smith saw Pearson across the street and called 911. When deputies spoke with the 24-year-old, he claimed to have never left the previous night but the homeowner he was staying with said Pearson had been gone all night, the report states. Pearson lives in Bunnell but had been staying with a friend at 1213 David Drive.Pearson is charged with home invasion robbery with a firearm, grand theft, two counts of aggravated assault, three counts of aggravated child abuse, and use of a firearm during the commission of a felony. Investigators are looking for another suspect who had driven Pearson’s getaway vehicle since witnesses reported seeing him get into the passenger side of a car, the report states.

Plaxico Burress suffered a thigh wound when he reportedly shot himself in the leg accidentally at a New York nightclub

Plaxico Burress suffered a thigh wound when he reportedly shot himself in the leg accidentally Friday night at a New York nightclub. According to several reports, Burress was not properly licensed to carry the weapon in New York.Plaxico Burress's attorney told the Associated Press he's been informed that the New York Giants wide receiver will face a charge of criminal possession of a weapon.Benjamin Brafman wrote in an e-mail to the AP that Burress will turn himself in Monday morning and will plead not guilty to the charge.Burress was released from a New York hospital on Saturday. He already had been ruled out of today's game against the Washington Redskins because of a previous hamstring injury.There also are questions about the role of Giants middle linebacker Antonio Pierce in the incident. Pierce reportedly was with Burress at the New York nightclub at which the shooting took place Friday night.The New York Daily News reported today that Pierce potentially could face criminal charges as well. Pierce allegedly attempted to hide the gun after the shooting, police sources told the Daily News. The New York Post reported that, according to records, Burress does not have a permit to carry a gun in New York.
Burress had a concealed-weapon permit issued to him in Florida but records show it expired in May and New York does not recognize out-of-state permits anyway, the newspaper reported. The report in the Daily News indicated the same thing.Thomas King, the president of the New York Rifle and Pistol Association, told the Post: "New York has the most restrictive pistol-licensing system in the United States. It recognizes absolutely no out-of-state permits. An out-of-stater never has the authority to carry" there.The Post reported that criminal possession of a loaded weapon is a felony in New York that is punishable by up to a year in prison.
The Daily News reported that Burress faces up to five years in prison for the felony..Pierce's attorney was in discussions with the police to attempt to prevent Pierce from being charged for his role in the incident, according to the Daily News report. The Daily News reported that Pierce took the gun and put it somewhere in New Jersey after the shooting.According to the Daily News report, Pierce applied pressure to Burress's wound after the shooting and berated Burress for taking a loaded handgun into the nightclub. Burress told Pierce not to call 911 and initially didn't want to go to the hospital but, after being helped out of the club by Pierce, went to a hospital two hours later with his wife and a friend, the Daily News reported. The Giants reported the incident to police and officers were turned away from Burress's home in New Jersey by his wife around 5 p.m. Saturday, according to the newspaper.According to the report in the Daily News, Pierce's attorney told police that Pierce would cooperate with the investigation if not charged. A Giants official went to New Jersey on Saturday to retrieve the weapon and turn it over to police but officers still planned to obtain a warrant to search Pierce's car, the Daily News reported.The Daily News reported that Burress shot himself when he fumbled with the gun after it slipped down his pants leg. Burress initially was turned away at the nightclub because he had a gun but was let in around midnight after telling the club's management that he needed the firearm to protect himself, according to the Daily News.The Giants indicated in a written statement Saturday that Burress suffered an injury to his right thigh in an accidental shooting Friday. Burress was released from a New York City hospital Saturday afternoon, according to the Giants' statement. The Giants declined to release details of the incident, indicating that it could become a matter for law enforcement officials.The Giants did not indicate how seriously Burress was hurt but there was a report that he could be ready to play again within a couple weeks.Burress, 31, also faces possible discipline by the NFL under its personal conduct policy. The Giants indicated in their statement that they'd been in contact with NFL security officials.The NFL has a gun policy that prohibits players from taking firearms to team- and league-related events. The policy reportedly also warns players about carrying unlicensed firearms, saying that could subject them to league discipline as well as criminal charges.
The NFL guns and weapons policy reads, in part: "If you violate this policy on guns and other weapons, you are subject to discipline, including suspension from playing. And if you violate a public law covering weapons--for example, possession of an unlicensed firearm--you are not only subject to discipline, including suspension from playing, but also subject to criminal prosecution."

Houston has become a firearms marketplace for Mexican drug cartels

Houston has become a firearms marketplace for Mexican drug cartels, according to federal law enforcement officials.Gangsters have spent millions in Texas on military-style weapons and ammunition that are being used in the cartels' ongoing clashes with Mexican police, government and citizens. Houston has emerged as a buyers' haven.
"Our investigations show Houston is the top source for firearms going into Mexico, top source in the country," said J. Dewey Webb, special agent in charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' Houston division, in a story Sunday in the Houston Chronicle.Mexican gangsters have chosen Houston because of its numerous gun shops, its proximity to the border and its long-established networks for smuggling narcotics into the United States, the ATF says.Authorities say numerous crimes, including a 2007 Acapulco massacre that left four police officers and three secretaries dead, illustrate the carnage brought on by Houston-bought guns that have gotten into the hands of ruthless killers.ATF is targeting at least three Houston groups it contends supply weapons to the Gulf Cartel, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court.Since 2007, when the investigation was launched after an audit of a gun store's sales records, agents working with Mexican counterparts have traced at least 328 Houston-bought firearms to those groups.Andrew Molchan, director of the Professional Gun Retailers Association, said members are aware fraudulent buyers are out there and are encouraged to ask more questions than the law requires to evaluate customers."Regardless of the business — banks, doctors or whatever — if somebody starts to commit fraud it's very difficult for any business or retailer to combat that," he said.More than 4,000 people have died in Mexico's criminal underworld violence this year.Mexican officials estimate 90 percent of nearly 27,000 weapons seized from stash houses or recovered from crime scenes in the past two years originated in the United States.Mexico's weapons laws are stricter than those in the United States, making it difficult for civilians to purchase guns and ammunition.

New London man was stabbed early this morning in Ledyard, just minutes before a New York man was shot at the same party

New London man was stabbed early this morning in Ledyard, just minutes before a New York man was shot at the same party, police said.Police said an unidentified 17-year-old New London resident with a non-threatening stab wound to his torso drove himself to Lawrence and Memorial Hospital shortly after midnight. Minutes later, police received reports of a gunshot fired at 5 Wolf Gap Road in Ledyard—the same party police later determined the stabbing occurred. On arrival, police found an unidentified 21-year-old New York man suffering from a gunshot wound to his lower body. He was transported to The William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich where he is in stable condition.Ledyard, Groton and state police from Troop E arrested three people attempting to flee the party. James Robertson, 29, of 27 Hawthorne Drive in New London, was charged with possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle and carrying a pistol without a permit after police said he was found with a loaded gun. He was held on a $10,000 cash bond.Shawn D. Rucker, 20, of 12 Harvard Terrace in Gales Ferry and Gilene Sablon, 20, of 204 Connecticut Ave. in New London, were both charged with two counts of possession of a weapon in a motor vehicle after police said three knives and a BB gun were found in their vehicle. They were each held on a $5,000 cash bond.Both incidents are under investigation by the State Police Eastern District Major Crime Squad, Ledyard Police and the Ledyard Resident State Trooper.

Police said they are keeping an open mind about the motives behind the murder of a man gunned down in an alleyway.

Police said they are keeping an open mind about the motives behind the murder of a man gunned down in an alleyway.The 24-year-old victim died at the scene of the shooting in west Ealing, west London.The Metropolitan Police have launched a murder investigation but no arrests have yet been made.A member of the public alerted the emergency services, who found the body in an alley off Cavendish Avenue, west Ealing.
A spokeswoman for the London Ambulance Service said: "We were called at 8.48pm to reports of an assault in Cavendish Avenue. We sent along a fast response car, an ambulance crew and duty manager. An adult male was dead at the scene."The path was used as a shortcut to a nearby housing estate.Police said they were keeping an open mind regarding a possible motive for the killing.They said they believe they know who the dead man is but will not release his name until he is formally identified and his next of kin have been informed.Detective Chief Inspector Fiona Mallon from Operation Trident, which investigates black-on-black killings, said: "I urge anyone who witnessed the shooting or anyone who was in the area shortly before or after the shooting to please come forward to police with information.

last of three high-tech executives gunned down in their Silicon Valley office was laid to rest Friday

last of three high-tech executives gunned down in their Silicon Valley office was laid to rest Friday as friends, families and co-workers struggled to make sense of what they called an incomprehensible crime.Funeral services were held in Los Altos for Brian Pugh, 47, vice president of operations at SiPort in Santa Clara before he and two co-workers were slain Nov. 14 by an engineer who had been fired from the firm earlier in the day, police said.The company's chief executive, Sid Agrawal, and human resources director Marilyn Lewis also were killed. Suspect Jing Hua Wu, 47, of Mountain View, who was arrested last Saturday, could face the death penalty if convicted. On Friday, hundreds of mourners packed the Los Altos United Methodist Church to honor Pugh, a soft-spoken father of two who loved music, the outdoors and playing with his kids."Obviously, the last few days have been very difficult. This isn't something you can ever expect to happen," said Pugh's widow, Carol Coe Pugh of Los Altos. "But we've received enormous support from the community and the SiPort family."SiPort, a 4-year-old startup that makes wireless chips, is a close-knit firm of 38 Silicon Valley veterans who've been devastated by the killings, said vice president of marketing Sunder Velamuri."I cannot describe to you the shock," he said Friday, just as Pugh's service was getting under way. "It's surreal. People are walking around like they're in a dream. I still expect to hear Marilyn's laugh in the hallway."The staff has been undergoing grief counseling when not attending funerals, and is gradually getting back to work. The firm has had a successful year, and its clients have been highly supportive through the tragedy, said company spokeswoman Ching Wu.Still, the grief and shock will never completely fade, Velamuri said.

Steven Graham, whose nickname was "Jamaica," appeared to have been shot once in the torso while riding past the station

Steven Graham, whose nickname was "Jamaica," was an eighth-grader at Masonville Cove Community Academy in Brooklyn. He lived in the 500 block of Annabel Ave. with his uncle and other relatives.His mother lives in Jamaica. His father, also named Steven Graham, has been locked up since his arrest in June 2006. In March 2007 in Baltimore Circuit Court, Graham pleaded guilty to attempted second-degree murder and using a handgun to kill Donta Roberts, 28, in Northwest Baltimore. Graham is serving his five-year sentence at the Maryland Correctional Institute in Hagerstown.Wilson, 30, knew his nephew was in trouble, but he says he didn't know the extent of it. Steven was evasive when asked about his friends and activities, the uncle said.
For the past few months, Steven had been having problems. Three weeks ago, while Steven was walking home from school and wearing a red jacket -- a color associated with the Bloods gang -- he was jumped by boys who tried to beat him up, Wilson said. But he was able to run away.About a month and a half ago, Wilson said, Steven claimed that his friend had been kidnapped and shot in the neighborhood. The friend survived, Wilson said, adding that he knew little about the crime, including the friend's real name.Tuesday morning, city police officers came to his Annabel Avenue house looking for Steven's friend, Wilson said. Officer Troy Harris, a police spokesman, said the warrant apprehension task force went to the house to look for a suspect in a recent crime. The Annabel Avenue address came up because the suspect, whose name was not released, was a friend of Steven's.That evening, Steven left the house. Wilson said he didn't know where his nephew was heading.About 7:30 p.m., Kenya Johnson, a firefighter-paramedic at Engine Co. 35, was in a firehouse office when he heard a loud bang. He suspected that it was a gunshot and started walking toward the front of the station when he heard someone pounding on the large roll-up garage door and yelling: "Somebody's been shot!""I heard the shot. It was a loud shot, not a popgun," Johnson said. "That wasn't a firecracker." He and other emergency workers rushed outside. Steven was lying on the ground, about 20 feet in front of one of the garage doors. "He wasn't conscious," said Johnson, 34, a former city school teacher. "He was out that fast."
Steven appeared to have been shot once in the torso while riding past the station,Johnson said. His bike lay about two feet away. Paramedics transported Steven to Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he died a short time later, police said. This year, 19 children have been ruled Baltimore homicide victims, compared with 27 last year, according to police data. The Department of Juvenile Services reports that four of those teens, including Steven, who was on probation, were under their watch.Steven was the third Baltimore 14-year-old to be shot to death this year. The others were Edward Smith on Jan. 14 in the 800 block of Bethune Road and

Ammunition plant in Petare, a suburb of the capital often counted as Latin America’s largest barrio, was found crammed with lead ingots, lathes

Ammunition plant in Petare, a suburb of the capital often counted as Latin America’s largest barrio, was found crammed with lead ingots, lathes and moulds used to make 2,000 bullets a day of various calibres.People would drop by and pick up a box of bullets as if they were buying something from the local pharmacy,” says Chief Inspector Wilmer Flores Trosel, who oversaw the raid.Mr Flores, who recently took charge of the Metropolitan police in Caracas, faces a tough task.Although the nationwide homicide rate reached 48 murders per 100,000 people in 2007 – representing a 67 per cent jump since Hugo Chávez was elected president a decade ago – in Caracas the rate is at 130 per 100,000, according to official figures. The US rate hovers around six and the UK’s is around two.“There is a civil war going on here,” says Jesus Torrealba, an activist in the Caracas slums who is critical of the government.“But because it is a low intensity war, when 50 people die a weekend in Caracas, the world doesn’t want to hear about it – unlike, say, when a car bomb kills as many in Fallujah.”Venezuela is not alone: the average homicide rate in the region is four times higher than the global average, according to a recent report by the Organization of American States.But Venezuela is one of the worst. Since 2004 its murder rate has even exceeded that of neighbouring Colombia, which has been mired in a decades-long conflict involving a guerilla insurgency, paramilitary death squads and ruthless drug cartels.A recent poll by Caracas-based company Datanalisis found that 54 per cent rank personal insecurity and the rise of delinquency as Venezuela’s principal problem. Inflation came a distant second, with just 13 per cent considering it the country’s most pressing concern.However, the violence has so far had a limited impact on Mr Chávez’s popularity, which will be tested at regional elections in a fortnight.

While insecurity has consistently topped polls of citizens’ worries for the past three years, during the same time Mr Chávez’s popularity has fluctuated wildly. It fell from 70 per cent in 2006 to 46 per cent early this year, but has since rebounded to 57 per cent, according to Datanalisis, indicating little correlation between the problem of rising crime and the president’s popularity.

“The people don’t blame the president for this,” says Luis Vicente Leon, a director at Datanalisis.

Other problems such as the high and rising cost of living, unemployment and scarcity of basic goods – coffee is the latest item to have disappeared from supermarket shelves – are likely to have a bigger impact on the election result on November 23, Mr Leon argues.

Experts point to a number of reasons for Venezuela’s plight. High on the list is the fact that of over 6m arms circulating among a population of about 27m, some 4.5m are illegal, according to official estimates. Increased drug trafficking and usage combined with brutal gang warfare have exacerbated the bloodbath. Meanwhile, a corrupt and ineffective police force has so far done little to solve the problem, contributing to a general climate of impunity.

Mr Flores argues that gun crime is an inherited problem that started to become serious as long ago as the 1980s.

“You can’t change a country in just 10 years after 40 years of misrule,” he says.

Frank T. Gonzales was pronounced dead at a hospital after he showed up at a home in the 700 block of East 35th Street bleeding profusely

Frank T. Gonzales was pronounced dead at a hospital after he showed up at a home in the 700 block of East 35th Street bleeding profusely and asking for help, police said. Gonzales did not live in the neighborhood and did not know the person who lived at the home, police said. It is believed the crime occurred elsewhere.
The resident of the home called 911 around 12:30 p.m. and Gonzales was taken to a hospital. Gang detectives were working Friday to develop suspect information, according to a news release. The gang unit is handling the case because the victim had gang ties, although police would not say that the killing was gang-motivated, according to Officer Linda Galindo, a police spokeswoman.
Anyone with information

Jaime “El Hummer” Gonzalez Duran largest weapons seizure in Mexican history.

Mexican government carried out a number of operations in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, aimed at Jaime “El Hummer” Gonzalez Duran, one of the original members of the brutal cartel group known as Los Zetas. According to Mexican government officials, Gonzalez Duran controlled the Zetas’ operations in nine Mexican states. The Nov. 7 arrest of Gonzalez Duran was a major victory for the Mexican government and will undoubtedly be a major blow to the Zetas. Taking Gonzalez Duran off the streets, however, is not the only aspect of these operations with greater implications. The day before Gonzalez Duran’s arrest, Mexican officials searching for him raided a safe house, where they discovered an arms cache that would turn out to be the largest weapons seizure in Mexican history. This is no small feat, as there have been several large hauls of weapons seized from the Zetas and other Mexican cartel groups in recent years.The weapons seized at the Gonzalez Duran safe house included more than 500firearms, a half-million rounds of ammunition and 150 grenades. The cache also included a LAW rocket, two grenade launchers and a small amount of explosives. Along with the scores of assorted assault rifles, grenades and a handful of gaudy gold-plated pistols were some weapons that require a bit more examination: namely, the 14 Fabrique Nationale (FN) P90 personal defense weapons and the seven Barrett .50-caliber sniper rifles contained in the seizure.
As previously noted, the FN Five-Seven pistol and FN P90 personal defense weapon are very popular with the various cartel enforcer groups operating in Mexico. The Five-Seven and the P90 shoot a 5.7x28 (5.7 mm-by-28 mm) round that has been shown to be effective in penetrating body armor as well as vehicle doors and windows. Because of this ability to punch through body armor, cartel enforcers call the weapons “matapolicias,” Spanish for “cop killers.” Of course, AK-47 and M-16-style assault rifles are also effective at penetrating body armor and vehicles, as are large-caliber hunting rifles such as the 30.06 and the .308. But the advantage of the Five-Seven and the P90 is that they provide this penetration capability in a much smaller — and thus far more concealable — package.
The P90 is a personal defense weapon designed to be carried by tank crew members or combat support personnel who require a compact weapon capable of penetrating body armor. It is considered impractical for such soldiers to be issued full-size infantry rifles or even assault rifles, so traditionally these troops were issued pistols and submachine guns. The proliferation of body armor on the modern battlefield, however, has rendered many pistols and submachine guns that fire pistol ammunition ineffective. Because of this, support troops needed a small weapon that could protect them from armored troops; the P90 fits this bill. In fact, the P90 lends itself to anyone who needs powerful, concealable weapons. Protective security details, some police officers and some special operations forces operators thus have begun using the P90 and other personal defense weapons. The P90’s power and ability to be concealed also make it an ideal weapon for cartel enforcers intent on conducting assassinations in an urban environment — especially those stalking targets wearing body armor. The Five-Seven, which is even smaller than the P90, fires the same fast, penetrating cartridge. Indeed, cartel hit men have killed several Mexican police officers with these weapons in recent months. However, guns that fire the 5.7x28 mm cartridge are certainly not the only type of weapons used in attacks against police — Mexican cops have been killed by many other types of weapons.
While the P90 and Five-Seven are small and light, and use a small, fast round to penetrate armor, the .50-caliber cartridge fired by a Barrett sniper rifle is the polar opposite: It fires a huge chunk of lead. By way of comparison, the 5.7 cartridge is just a little more than 1.5” long and has a 32-grain bullet. The .50-caliber Browning Machine Gun (BMG) cartridge is actually 12.7mm by 99 mm, measures nearly 5.5” long and fires a 661-grain bullet. The P90 has a maximum effective range of 150 meters, whereas a Barrett’s listed maximum effective range is 1,850 meters — and there are reports of coalition forces snipers in Afghanistan scoring kills at more than 2,000 meters. The .50-BMG round not only will punch through body armor and normal passenger vehicles, it can defeat the steel plate armor and the laminated ballistic glass and polycarbonate windows used in lightly armored vehicles. This is yet another reminder that there is no such thing as a bulletproof car. The round is also capable of penetrating many brick and concrete block walls. We have heard reports for years of cartels seeking .50-caliber sniper rifles made by Barrett and other U.S. manufacturers. Additionally, we have noted many reports of seizures from arms smugglers in the United States of these weapons bound for Mexico, or of the weapons being found in Mexican cartel safe houses — such as the seven rifles seized in Reynosa. Unlike the P90s, however, we cannot recall even one instance of these powerful weapons being used in an attack against another cartel or against a Mexican government target. This is in marked contrast to Ireland, where the Irish Republican Army used .50-caliber Barrett rifles obtained from the United States in many sniper attacks against British troops and the Royal Ulster Constabulary.
That Mexican cartels have not used these devastating weapons is surprising. There are in fact very few weapons in the arsenals of cartel enforcers that we have not seen used, including hand grenades, 40mm grenades, LAW rockets and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs). Even though most inter-cartel warfare has occurred inside densely populated Mexican cities such as Tijuana, Ciudad Juarez and Nuevo Laredo — places where it would be very difficult to find a place to take a shot longer than a few hundred meters, much less a couple thousand — the power of the Barrett could be very effective for taking out targets wearing body armor, riding in armored vehicles, located inside the safe house of a rival cartel or even inside a government building. Also, unlike improvised explosive devices (IEDs), which the cartels have avoided using for the most part, the use of .50-caliber rifles would not involve a high probability of collateral damage. This indicates that the reason the cartels have not used these weapons is to be found in the nature of snipers and sniping.
Most military and police snipers are highly trained and very self-disciplined. Being a sniper requires an incredible amount of practice, patience and preparation. Aside from rigorous training in marksmanship, the sniper must also be trained in camouflage, concealment and movement. Snipers are often forced to lie immobile for hours on end. Additional training is required for snipers operating in urban environments, which offer their own set of challenges to the sniper; though historically, as seen in battles like Stalingrad, urban snipers can be incredibly effective. Snipers commonly deploy as part of a team of two, comprising a shooter and a spotter. This means two very self-disciplined individuals must be located and trained. The team must practice together and learn how to accurately estimate distances, wind speed, terrain elevation and other variables that can affect a bullet’s trajectory. An incredible amount of attention to detail is required for a sniper team to get into position and for their shots to travel several hundred meters and accurately, consistently strike a small target.
In spite of media hype and popular fiction, criminals or terrorists commit very few true sniper attacks. For example, many of our sniper friends were very upset that the media chose to label the string of murders committed by John Mohammed and Lee Boyd Malvo as the “D.C. Sniper Case.” While Mohammed and Malvo did use concealment, they commonly shot at targets between 50 and 100 meters away. Therefore, calling Mohammed and Malvo snipers was a serious insult to the genuine article. The assassinations of President John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr., as well as the killing of Dr. Bernard Slepian, also have been dubbed sniper attacks, but they actually were all shootings committed at distances of less than 100 meters. Of course, using a Barrett at short ranges (100 meters or less) is still incredibly effective and does not require a highly trained sniper — as a group of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives special agents found out in 1993 when they attempted to serve search and arrest warrants at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas. The agents were met with .50-caliber sniper fire that ripped gaping holes through the Chevrolet Suburbans they sought cover behind. Many of the agents wounded in that incident were hit by the shrapnel created as the .50-caliber rounds punched through their vehicles.
While it is extremely powerful, the Barrett is however a long, heavy weapon. If the sniper lacks training in urban warfare, it might prove very difficult to move around with the gun and also to find a concealed place to employ it. This may partially explain why the Mexican cartels have not used the weapons more. Moreover, while the Zetas originally comprised deserters from the Mexican military and over the years have shown an ability to conduct assaults and ambushes, we have not traditionally seen them deploy as snipers. Today, most of the original Zetas are now in upper management, and no longer serve as foot soldiers. The newer men brought into the Zetas include some former military and police officers along with some young gangster types; most of them lack the level of training possessed by the original Zetas. While the Zetas have also brought on a number of former Kaibiles, Guatemalan special operations forces personnel, most of them appear to be assigned as bodyguards for senior Zetas. This may mean we are not seeing the cartels employ snipers because their rank-and-file enforcers do not possess the discipline or training to function as snipers. Of course, criminal syndicates in possession of these weapons still pose a large potential threat to U.S. law enforcement officers, especially when the weapons are in the hands of people like Gonzalez Duran and his henchmen. According to an FBI intelligence memo dated Oct. 17 and leaked to the media, Gonzalez Duran appeared to have gotten wind of the planned operation against him. He reportedly had authorized those under his command to defend their turf at any cost, to include engagements with U.S. law enforcement agents. It is important to remember that a chunk of that turf was adjacent to the U.S. border and American towns, and that Reynosa — where Gonzalez Duran was arrested and the weapons were seized — is just across the border from McAllen, Texas. Armed with small, powerful weapons like the P90, cartel gunmen can pose a tremendous threat to any law enforcement officer who encounters them in a traffic stop or drug raid. Over the past several years, we have noted several instances of U.S. Border Patrol agents and other U.S. law enforcement officers being shot at from Mexico. The thought of being targeted by a weapon with the range and power of a .50-caliber sniper rifle would almost certainly send chills up the spine of any Border Patrol agent or sheriff’s deputy working along the border. Armed with assault rifles, hand grenades and .50-caliber sniper rifles, cartel enforcers have the potential to wreak havoc and outgun U.S. law enforcement officers. The only saving grace for U.S. law enforcement is that many cartel enforcers are often impaired by drugs or alcohol and tend to be impetuous and reckless. While the cartel gunmen are better trained than most Mexican authorities, their training does not stack up to that of most U.S. law enforcement officers. This was illustrated by an incident on Nov. 6 in Austin, Texas, when a police officer used his service pistol to kill a cartel gunman who fired on the officer with an AK-47.
While the arrest of Gonzalez Duran and the seizure of the huge arms cache in Reynosa have taken some killers and weapons off the street, they are only one small drop in the bucket. There are many heavily armed cartel enforcers still at large in Mexico, and the violence is spreading over the border into the United States. Law enforcement officers in the United States therefore need to maintain a keen awareness of the threat.