Word: armoring
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...opened fire, killing 13 people in the worst mass shooting in the U.S. since the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre. The following day, three Pittsburgh, Penn., police officers responding to a domestic disturbance were killed by 23-year-old Richard Poplawski. In both cases, the suspects were wearing body armor. Wong ultimately took his own life; police eventually took Poplawski into custody after a four-hour standoff, charging him with three counts of criminal homicide and nine counts of attempted homicide as well as charges stemming from his use of body armor in a criminal act. (See pictures of the scene...
...perpetrators are the latest examples of what investigators have begun calling "pseudo commandos" - criminals who prepare for a showdown with law enforcement by strapping on bullet-resistant vests before battle. (Technically, body armor isn't considered bulletproof; depending on the vest, high-powered weapons can still cause life-threatening injuries). In one of the most famous cases, in 1997, bank robbers Larry Phillips Jr. and Emil Matasareanu faced off against police outside a Bank of America branch in North Hollywood covered in body armor and toting high-powered weapons. After injuring 11 officers and six civilians, both men were killed...
...Body armor, by its very nature, is meant to protect the wearer from flying bullets, and in most circumstances outside a war zone it's tough to argue that they should be available for civilian use. For that reason, some states including New York ban their purchase by private citizens - although Poplawski was permitted to buy armor under Pennsylvania law. Federal statutes also block convicted violent felons from buying body armor - which can cost anywhere from $200 to $2,000 - but as far as investigators have found, neither Wong nor Poplawski previously fit that criterion. With laws varying from state...
...military has as many F-22s as it needs. Instead, Gates will commit to increasing the supply of the next-generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighter as well as weapons systems designed to enhance U.S. capability in current conflicts, from unmanned drones and defenses against medium-range missiles to armored vehicles and even body armor...
...This is not just because of the well-known aversion by European electorates to large defense budgets. Europe has for years concentrated its military spending on the continent's own defense. Instead of helicopters which are suited for Afghanistan's landscape, or more basic items like protective armor, European spending has favored big-ticket items like nuclear submarines and the Eurofighter. "Maybe these things are very important against some enemy - perhaps China," says Sascha Lange, military researcher for the German Institute for International and Security Affairs in Berlin. "But we have this very strong need for simply boots...