The airbag for a BULLET: Ping pong ball-style cushion can be attached to any gun...

Fatal shootings by police and other law enforcement agencies could soon be avoided thanks to a device that acts like an 'airbag' for a bullet.

'The Alternative' device looks like a metal ping pong ball and can be attached to the barrel of any gun.

The idea is that the ball breaks off when a bullet is fired and melds with the shot, effectively slowing it down to result in less injury.

It is hoped the 'airbag for a bullet' could reduce the number of civilians killed by police officers in potentially lethal situations.

The device, designed by Alternative Ballistics in San Diego, California, takes the form of a metal ball or 'bullet capture device' fitted over the barrel of a gun.

Once the gun is fired, the bullet embeds itself inside the device without a chance of it escaping.

The bullet's energy is simultaneously transferred to the alloy ball, propelling it towards the target.

'The Alternative' works like an 'airbag for a bullet', slowing it down to one fifth of its intended speed.

When the device with the bullet inside hits a targeted person, it still causes serious pain, but less injury to a body than a conventional bullet.

In this way, it is 'less lethal' than a regular bullet and is designed to incapacitate a target without piercing the skin.

The company said the technology represents a critical 'missing link' between lethal force and less-lethal force.

'By utilising our bullet capture technology in appropriate situations, police are likely to prevent loss of life in a way that was – until now – not possible,' the firm said.

Alternative Ballistics CEO Christian Ellis told San Diego ABC 10 News: 'Just like an airbag, a certain amount of...

You do not shoot to wound. You only shoot to kill.

If I read this kind of crap on FR one more time I’m gonna scream!

It's not crap and I'll explain why.

No, dammit, NO! You only shoot to stop the threat!

1. You shoot to hit center mass. Why, because it is very important you hit the assailant immediately. It's the biggest target. Every chance they have to get off one more shot, is one more chance for someone other than them to die.

2. What is in the center of that mass? That would be the heart, lungs, vital organs.

3. Do you ever shoot to wound? No. A wounded assailant can and will continue to shoot you or others. Wounding shots would be to smaller targets, easier missed, and again, allowing the assailant to fire off more rounds.

4. Do you ever shoot to disarm? No. It's very hard to hit a weapon. It is a tiny target. It's generally moving. Once again, pounding it in if I have to, missing allows the assailant a chance to fire off more rounds. Hit center mass.

5. End this person's fantasy of killing you and others. Put them out of commission as quickly and safely as possible.

6. Do not have any empathy for someone seeking to end your or other people's lives without good cause.

Repeat: TO STOP THE THREAT!

Repeat, hit center mass. Any way you want to parse it, it's a shoot to kill shot. Perhaps you have a PC reason for stating "stop the threat". In life and death situations you can take your PC and desposit it in the round file.

This, boys and girls, is from an NRA Patron/Senior Training Counselor, and LE pistol instructor.

Sad.

You don't take your weapon out unless it's their life or your own.

I'm voting theirs and I would urge others to look at it just like that.

Keep things in perspective. You must live. Those you care about must live. Anyone attacking you, must be confronted with extreme prejudice.

For a guy that deals in this, you really are obtuse on the subject.

At no time did I say the guy had to wind up dead. If he’s shot and the situation changes, so does the situational setting.

If there is no longer a threat, there is no longer justification for further action.

You can’t grasp that without me having to spell it out for you? Really?

Are you telling me officers aren’t trained to shoot for center mass?

Are you telling me they are trained just to wound?

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.