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That's because high velocity ballistic objects have a tendency to be fatal and when you're shooting an immediately hostile target in close quarters in the vicinity of multiple bystanders then center mass shots are mostly your only choice under pressure.

tHIS

If you've ever fired either a Glock 9mm or a submachine gun you will know how difficult it is to hit a small target, especially one that is moving, presumably fast - especially if you don't have time to brace against the recoil. Aiming for a leg is less likely to succeed than firing into the torso, and therefore more dangerous to both the shooter and any unfortunate passers-by behind the target.
Looking at the pictures of him on the stretcher it appears he was shot in the stomach, which indicates the officer went for the largest target.

I could be wrong here, but generally when shooting a suspect the police will aim for the body mass rather than say a leg or arm as there is less likely hood of collateral damage from a stray bullet that has gone in and out of someones thigh, training kicks in.

shoot to kill

Not sure this exists. Shoot to the centre of mass, to minimise a miss and maximise the chance of stopping someone is a thing. I imagine it has a higher chance of resulting in death than shooting at a limb.

lots of cs:go semi pro's here.

thanks for responses - all good info - I really don't know anything about this so possibly my view has been skewed by TV and film

enhance!

Mall Ninjas Assemble!

Would rep etc.

Ha, ha, had to google that.

Not sure about the others but I'm a complete gaming luddite. A lot of my information has come from discussing US gun laws and usage with current and former law enforcement officers, ex US military and a bunch of the usual glock polishers. Interesting if a little scary.

Obvs kill me if I ever become a mall ninja. You know, if you think you're hard enough.

+1 good work

I did some googling a few years ago wondering why cops shoot to kill and learnt something.

I also took down some bad guys at a secret location just off the M25 a few years ago, I doubt any of you will have heard about it. If you knew what I had done for you all you'd still be thanking me now...be safe

A close relative of mine (now retired) used to be in the Firearms unit in the City of London back in the day when they used Smith and Wesson revolvers.
He was a genuine marksman and is very relieved he never had to fire in anger.
Police shoot to disable a threat.
They are trained to aim at "critical areas" to disable a threat. Those areas happen to be where a shot can also kill you.
They are not trained to aim for the head or to incapacitate knives, weapons etc... That's movie bollox.

(BTW giving all coppers guns is a very scary thought and would not make me feel safer.)

Seeing people doing that "marked as safe" thing on Facebook.
You know, with four people dead amongst the 20 million in daytime London, I kind of assume most people I know are safe.

(Not to take anything away from the horror experienced by those directly affected and the loss felt by those close to the victims etc. etc. etc.)

it's not quite the same as an earthquake in india that kills thousands.

From what I've seen, the marked as safe function mostly translates as "I don't live in London and wasn't within 100 miles of the House of Commons at the time".

" I hope my estranged ex sees this and gets in touch "

Ha

Actual lol

My wife's cousin is armed plod over Westminster, my mother in law was doing her biscuits yesterday saying "(cousin) isn't answering any texts!" Not sure she realised chances are she wasn't checking her texts / FB updates but actually being armed police and doing what she is trained in.

'You look like you're in the area' -> Map of SE England.

The lack of deaths doesn't make it a useless feature. If most of your friends and family are in a foreign country, it's quick and convenient to hit that button rather than reply to all the concerned messages across various media. The two people that used it on my feed were both from abroad and receiving multiple messages. Made sense to me.

bag of wind adele selling some hot air

whoops sorry that should read - bag of wind from adele concert for sale on ebay

http://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/celebrity-news/adele-fans-bidding-on-legit-bags-of-air-from-concerts-on-ebay-a3497476.html

well this humblebrag hot take is certainly the worst thing i've read in response to yesterdays events...

amazing. have 2 internet points