[h=2]Police firearms
[/h] [h=3]Weaponised[/h] [h=1]Most Chinese police have long gone without firearms. In the wake of terrorist incidents, that is changing[/h]
[/h] [h=3]Weaponised[/h] [h=1]Most Chinese police have long gone without firearms. In the wake of terrorist incidents, that is changing[/h]
WHEN five assailants armed with long knives started murdering bystanders at a railway station in the south-western Chinese city of Kunming on March 1st, the first police to respond were ill-equipped to fight back. Most had no guns, which ordinary officers typically go without. One who did quickly ran out of bullets. Some officers used their batons while others resorted, bravely but ineffectually, to wielding fire extinguishers which they found at the scene. A specially trained unit of police with guns arrived as long as 20 minutes later and shot four of the attackers dead.
The government promptly decided it must make weapons more readily available to police. It has acted quickly to do sosome critics say too quickly and too rashly.