Houston: Bizarre arrow shooting

[Lumberjack98]

I read the posts by the one involved at ar15.com and he indicated that she was shot with 380 FMJ bullets. It sounds like the guy had just bought the 380 and was going to take it to the range that day and had it loaded with target rounds (at least I hope that he wouldn't use fmj in a 380 as defensive rounds.

[Purplehood]

I didn't realize that I shouldnt be using FMJ's until it finally dawned on me while reading these forums. In the Military, I used whatever they handed me.

[fm2]

I think fmj bullets may be a good choice to overcome some calibers penetration shortcomings.

[mr.72]

This doesn't say much for the effectiveness of the .380. Maybe it's a perfectly-fine "man-stopper", but fails as a "woman with bow and arrow" stopper.

[RiveraRa]

The guy said he only saw 2 hits on the lady from the 380 though. One on the leg and the other to the chest under her breast. But yeah, I would be using HPs in that 380.

[seamusTX]

This doesn't say much for the effectiveness of the .380. Maybe it's a perfectly-fine "man-stopper", but fails as a "woman with bow and arrow" stopper.

She didn't hurt anyone else, did she?

Plenty of people have been sent to the Great Beyond by a single shot from a .380.

For the most part, there is no question that we should use hollowpoints (HP) in self-defense handguns.

The .380 is an odd bird in this respect.

You can find numerous reports of feed problems with HP in .380s. If the pistol does not cycle reliably, all speculation about terminal ballistics is useless.

You can also find numerous and conflicting reports about whether .380 HP, wadcutters, or ball are the most effective in terminal ballistics.

I will leave y'all to mull over this topic, as I have no expertise to discuss it further.

- Jim

[CopOnce]

I had a .380 once; just long enough to run a box of hollow point ammo through it and I got rid of that jamming, misfed piece of junk. I can't even recall the make of it, but it was a joke.

[HGWC]

I saw a news report on this on one of the local channels, and I think they were interviewing the woman's mother. Apparently the girl was schizophrenic and had recently been released from a hospital for it. I don't recall exactly what she said, but she was lamenting what a tragedy it was that the CHL holders and the police didn't have enough training to deal with the mentally ill. Sounds like an awful lot of shots were fired. Seems to me the only lack of training involved was that they missed so many times.

[seamusTX]

Assuming that the guy on ar15.com is giving an accurate account, I can accept his explanation that he was using covering fire.

Covering fire can be a valid technique. A person armed with a bow and arrow is not the same level of threat as someone with a firearm. The bow is slower to load and cannot be fired from cover as easily as a handgun.

As for the man who did shoot the young woman, shooting a moving target in a dynamic situation is not easy. I have never done it, and I don't know how well I could do. I also think it would be hard for most normal men to shoot a woman at close range.

Relatives of people who are involved in incidents like this will always have sympathy for their relative. You will hear it even for baby-killing multi-convicted felons.

- Jim

[DoubleJ]

High tension situation. not unlikely to have a few misses. not to be confused with missus....

especially with a gun that the guy had just got, and maybe wasn't familiar with.

[Purplehood]

I saw a news report on this on one of the local channels, and I think they were interviewing the woman's mother. Apparently the girl was schizophrenic and had recently been released from a hospital for it. I don't recall exactly what she said, but she was lamenting what a tragedy it was that the CHL holders and the police didn't have enough training to deal with the mentally ill. Sounds like an awful lot of shots were fired. Seems to me the only lack of training involved was that they missed so many times.

OMG, now CHL holders are to be trained to handle mental illness? If they are mentally ill and threatening my loved ones or myself, I may have to resort to Deadly Force. If they are not mentally ill, I may have to do the same. Both mental states present a threat to safety, there is no difference.

If this woman was indeed mentally ill, I sympathize with the mother. But that is all I can do. The shooting appears to have been necessary.

[Taxman]

I saw a news report on this on one of the local channels, and I think they were interviewing the woman's mother. Apparently the girl was schizophrenic and had recently been released from a hospital for it. I don't recall exactly what she said, but she was lamenting what a tragedy it was that the CHL holders and the police didn't have enough training to deal with the mentally ill. Sounds like an awful lot of shots were fired. Seems to me the only lack of training involved was that they missed so many times.

OMG, now CHL holders are to be trained to handle mental illness? If they are mentally ill and threatening my loved ones or myself, I may have to resort to Deadly Force. If they are not mentally ill, I may have to do the same. Both mental states present a threat to safety, there is no difference.

If this woman was indeed mentally ill, I sympathize with the mother. But that is all I can do. The shooting appears to have been necessary.

+1

Sounds to me that the medical facility should not have released her. Either that or the mother should have made sure the daughter was taking her meds.

[DoubleJ]

yeah, but blame shifting to the cops is way easier....

[HGWC]

Sounds to me that the medical facility should not have released her. Either that or the mother should have made sure the daughter was taking her meds.

The mother blamed the hospital too.

[BluHog]

Who shot the arrow into the victim and was preparing to do so again? Wasn't the guy with his new .380; wasn't the hospital; wasn't the LEOs on scene; wasn't even the mom. It was the woman - the threat. I agree with Taxman - the woman shot an unarmed person and was about to do it again. THAT was the threat, IMHO.

Newbie question - what is the issue with using FMJ in the .380? Is it penetration through the target?