.40 Caliber Question

[Sam]

The night of July 4th we had a beautiful 7-year old boy, who was with his family waiting for the fireworks show to begin, hit in the head by a falling .40 caliber bullet.  Killed him on the spot even though two nurses did all they could to try to save his life.

 

Chesterfield County Police are seeking a .40 caliber weapon that they say "...believe the .40 caliber-class bullet was likely fired at a 55 to 70 degree angle and, based on that trajectory, the round likely traveled a maximum distance of about 5,000 feet, l or just less than a mile."

 

The bullet came almost straight down.

 

Question: Is a .40 caliber weapon popular and do you think there are many .40 caliber weapons in the public?

 

I would think the police have already pulled all Virginia .40 caliber weapons owners but the individual firing the weapon could have been from out of the area.

 

Just wondering about how popular and how many .40 caliber weapons are out there?

 

Thanks in advance for everyone's input.

[MDBowHunter]

From my experience they're very popular. I know of at least 15 people that own 40s, they're pretty much handle like a 9mm but have more a** behind them. I believe all of our local and state police carry them also. Prayers go out to the family.

[SPEEDBEAD.]

That's a terrible situation. It has happened here on New Year's as well (Amish guy got hit through the roof of his buggy).

 

Pulling all the .40 cal owners would take YEARS I'm sure and like you said, they very well may have been from outside the area. I never got the whole "shoot into the air" thing. If you really must, shoot a shotgun in a safe direction into the ground. Still not safe but certainly less deadly than a single projectile fired into the air.

[nick76]

40 caliber is the preferred size here in my area for Law Enforcement and other similar agencies.  40 Caliber has also become a popular round for many with a CPL or CCW for concealed carry or home defense.  Even if the state did pull all the permits and registrations for a 40 it would take years to find the gun if they even could.  This is just a terrible tragedy and unfortunately someone who owns a gun does not respect the proper usage and discharge of the weapon.  My thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the young boy. 

[DelfiBoyz_One_and_Only]

.40  That would be impossible to track down the owner of that round.  There is so many .40 cal not to mention all the lost stolen and unmarked weapons.  That same story happens every year on the 4th and New Years Eve.  People don't realize that the bullet has to come down somewhere.   People just have to get educated and stop doing what they see on TV.

 

Jay

[bluezed]

.40 is a very, very popular round.  And I agree with the others, it would be impossible to pull ownership data.  There is no such ownership database.  Not that it would do any good considering the weapon could be from out of state, stolen, or sold in a private sale.  

[Sam]

Thanks guys.

 

Chesterfield police are going to go door to door looking for someone who may have seen or heard the shot.

 

The little boy was cute as a button.

 

Very sad story.

[bluezed]

Very sad, indeed.  Hopefully they can find who did it.  Searching the area in which they think the shot came from is about the only thing they can do.  

[smr913]

That is about the saddest thing I have heard lately. Both the pistols I own are .40s (Glock 23 and XD40). The two other guys in my office both have .40s as well. I'd say its most peoples go to behind the 9mm and maybe the .45.