body armor

14 Stories

Cops: Teen Killed Friend While Testing Body Armor

2 Florida teens are being charged as adults

(Newser) - One Florida teenager is dead and two more are facing potential long prison sentences after they took turns shooting at each other, relying on an armored vest to protect them, police say. Christopher Vining and Colton Whitler, both 17, are being charged as adults in the death of 16-year-old Christoper...

Man Charged in Shooting Death of Partygoer in Bulletproof Vest

Police in Houston now want to know if the two men thought they were playing a game

(Newser) - A man was shot dead while wearing a bulletproof vest at a Houston party and police say they've been left to uncover whether the tragedy happened as part of some kind of prank gone terribly wrong. Jason Allen Griffin was arrested early Sunday morning following the death of a...

Flying Off Shelves: Bullet-Proof Backpacks

Newtown tragedy drives school shooting anxiety

(Newser) - It's the perfect product for a nation on edge about school shootings: the bullet-proof backpack. "It's an awful thing—you would never imagine your child with this kind of stuff—but since the Newtown tragedy, our sales are more than 10 times better," says the head...

Guy in Body Armor Nabbed With Bag of Weapons at LAX

He had ax, knives, clubs, cuffs, and biohazard suit: feds

(Newser) - An airline passenger wearing a bullet-proof vest was nabbed during a security screening with a suitcase stuffed with weapons at Los Angeles International Airport, officials report. Boston-bound flyer Yongda Huang Harris, 28, a US citizen of Chinese descent, was flying from Japan late last week when he was stopped by...

Army Tests Body Armor 'for Her'

New tactile vests are shorter, lighter

(Newser) - A group of female soldiers about to deploy to Afghanistan is taking along a brand-new style of body armor designed specifically for women. Old gear was restricting, making it difficult for women to bend over, fire rifles mounted on their shoulders, or maneuver in and out of tight spaces, reports...

Pentagon: Army Didn't Properly Test Body Armor

Army rushed through plates, can't prove they meet standards

(Newser) - The Army didn’t properly test much of the body armor deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan and can’t prove that it meets military standards, the Pentagon’s inspector general declared in a scathing new report. Because of the demands of the conflict, the army rushed some bullet-blocking plates into...

Massive Ancient Gold Trove Likely Battle Booty

Experts compare record find to discovery of King Tut's tomb

(Newser) - Experts dazzled by a record trove of ancient gold and silver unearthed in an English field believe the hoard of coins, hilts and parts of shields was war booty stripped from fallen soldiers and buried on the run. It was finally unearthed by a man with a metal detector 14...

Gates Pressure Speeds New Armor to Afghan Soldiers

(Newser) - With a little push from Defense Secretary Robert Gates, the Army says it has completed its assessment of $3 million worth of high-tech, lightweight body armor and will send it immediately to soldiers in Afghanistan, the New York Times reports. The Army was dragging out testing on the new armor,...

Army Holds Up Lighter Armor for Soldiers in Afghanistan

(Newser) - In a sign of the Army’s careful—some say plodding—procurement process, $3 million in lightweight body armor destined for Afghanistan is still stateside pending a widened assessment, the New York Times reports. The armor would shave 20 pounds off the punishing load—up to 130 pounds—some soldiers...

Critics Beef About Pig Explosions in US Army Tests

Campaigners question need to test body armor by blowing up pigs in Humvees

(Newser) - Animal rights activists have condemned the US military for blowing up live pigs to test body armor, USA Today reports. Military officials say the tests provided valuable information on the relationship between body armor and brain injury. But critics say the pig-blasting program caused unnecessary animal suffering for questionable results....

Binghamton Police Chief: 'He Must Have Been a Coward'

(Newser) - Jiverly Voong, the 41-year-old gunman who took 14 lives including his own at an upstate New York immigrant center, was wearing body armor during the attack, the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin reports. Binghamton’s police chief said the armor indicated Voong may have intended to take on police, but he...

Obama Was 10 Feet Tall and Bullet-Proof

Lightweight body armor made his inauguration duds 'bullet-resistant'

(Newser) - Barack Obama wasn't quite bullet-proof as he strode down Pennsylvania Avenue yesterday, but the new president was certainly "bullet-resistant," Slate explains. While the SWAT-team look might not be very presidential, several companies now manufacture lightweight protective clothing that can be worn under clothing or woven into shirts or...

Marines Improving Vests After Complaints

Troops complained 30 lbs. vest too heavy, restrictive

(Newser) - The Marine Corps is planning major improvements to its body armor after troops complained the $100 million vests were too heavy and restrictive, the AP reports. “I've worn the vest on my travels into Iraq and Afghanistan, and I can tell you those Marines have raised some valid points,...

Mumbai Police Were Outgunned
 Mumbai Police Were Outgunned 
Dec 3, 2008 1:47 AM CST

Mumbai Police Were Outgunned

Police relied on First World War-era weapons

(Newser) - Police in Mumbai were armed with weapons designed as long ago as World War I to battle terrorists brandishing sophisticated  AK47 automatic rifles, reports the Times of London. The alarming disparity in arms explains why a handful of terrorists was able to paralyze the city and inflict so many casualties....

14 Stories