Announcer: From our studios in New York, here is Stone Phillips.

STONE PHILLIPS: Good evening.

It is used with devastating effect by armies around the world. This powerful rifle, capable of cutting through armored vehicles and airplanes, hitting a target from a mile away. Soldiers call it the .50-caliber or sniper rifle. And here's what might surprise you. You can buy it, too. Almost anyone over 18 with a clean record can legally, easily purchase a .50-caliber. How easily can it fall into the wrong hands? Rob Stafford reports on a firestorm over this lethal weapon.

Unidentified Dispatcher: (Voiceover) Attention south units, reportedly shooting just occurred at the Albertson's 10081 West Bowles Avenue.

(Albertson's store; bullet hole in glass; tape recording)

ROB STAFFORD reporting: (Voiceover) April 28, 1995, gunfire erupts in a suburban Denver grocery store.

(Grocery store)

Unidentified 911 Operator: (Voiceover) What's going on?

(Grocery store)

Unidentified Caller: There's a guy shooting at us. Call police.

(Albert Petroski)

STAFFORD: (Voiceover) In a rage over his crumbling marriage, a man named Albert Petroski kills his estranged wife, her boss and wounds a third person.

(Petroski; grocery store)

Unidentified Unit 141 Deputy: (Voiceover) One-four-one. We're taking some heavy shots here with a long rifle.

(Grocery store; tape recording; gunshot in glass)

Dispatch: (Voiceover) All units, 141 is reporting heavy shooting.

(Tape recording) Unit 141 Deputy: (Voiceover) With a scope. Long rifle with a scope.

(Tape recording)

STAFFORD: (Voiceover) Under siege in a hail of bullets, deputies have nowhere to hide. Rounds shredding through metal, glass, anything in their path. Firepower like they've never faced before.

(Police car; close-ups of bullet holes)

Unit 141 Deputy: (Voiceover) He's firing with a long rifle right at us.

(Tim Mossbruker)

STAFFORD: (Voiceover) Then Petroski takes aim at Jefferson County Sheriff Sergeant Tim Mossbruker.

Mr. TIM MOSSBRUKER: (Voiceover) Shots are being fired.

STAFFORD: (Voiceover) Those would be Mossbruker's last words. His call sign, Victor 4.

(Police car)

Unit 141 Deputy: (Voiceover) Code 95. Get medical in here. Victor 4 is shot.

(Police car)

STAFFORD: (Voiceover) The terrifying shootout in the middle of the shopping center parking lot finally ends when Petroski surrenders. Assessing Petroski's deadly arsenal, deputies are stunned by the weapon that caused so much damage. This .50-caliber rifle, Sergeant Mossbruker was hit by shrapnel by that gun and fatally shot with another rifle. But the .50-cal was the weapon police feared the most. As seen in this police videotape, investigators discovered the .50-cal rounds not only ripped through Mossbruker's squad car but kept on going through yet another car. To show the awesome power of the .50-cal, investigators test-fired the gun. First, shooting through a manhole cover. Then, simulating the shooting of a car gas tank and finally, this chilling scene: a recreation of Petroski firing the

(People walking in the parking lot; police car; Petroski surrendering to police; rifle; sunglasses; rifle; police car; cars with bullet holes; man firing a rifle; shooting a manhole cover; shooting a gas tank; shooting a squad car)

Unidentified Man: (Voiceover) Here we have the M107 .50-caliber sniper rifle.

(Man walking with rifle)

STAFFORD: (Voiceover) The .50-cal is used by the US Army in conflicts around the world, including Iraq. Mostly to destroy equipment rather than people.

(Army units)

Man: (Voiceover) This is a 45-inch overall length, .9-inch barrel and a weight of 25 pounds.

(Man loading a rifle)

STAFFORD: (Voiceover) It is a maximum effective range of 2,000 yards, more than a mile away. But Albert Petroski had his own enemy in mind.

(Man shooting rifle; mug shot of Petroski)

Mr. ALBERT PETROSKI: Individuals don't have rights anymore. The government has all the rights. The government controls everything.

STAFFORD: (Voiceover) Petroski told friends he planned to start a war with a killed himself in his jail cell.

(Petroski being questioned; letter; Petroski getting out of a police car)

Ms. LYNN MOSSBRUKER: It's just ridiculous. It defies common sense, why a weapon like that would just be available to anybody.

STAFFORD: (Voiceover) Widow Lynn Mossbruker says she was shocked to see the weapon her husband's killer fired across that parking lot.

(Rifle)

Ms. MOSSBRUKER: It was just huge, and I couldn't imagine why somebody would have a thing like that to shoot at another human being.

STAFFORD: A medal for valor.

Ms. MOSSBRUKER: Mm-hmm.

STAFFORD: (Voiceover) And now she says she fears other officers might be outgunned by .50-caliber rifles.

(Photos of Mossbruker)

Ms. MOSSBRUKER: They have no place on the streets in this country. I can't think of a single reason why somebody needs a weapon like that. Unless they're going to war.

STAFFORD: (Voiceover) What surprised Lynn Mossbruker the most, she says, is that the .50-caliber rifle, fielded by armies around the world and considered the most powerful rifle made is perfectly legal for civilians to own in every state. But this year, California became the first state to ban future civilian sales of .50-cals. Lawmakers calling the gun a clear and present terrorist threat. So how many .50-cals are in private hands? Some estimates are as high as 20,000. But the truth is, no one, not even the government knows for sure.

(Rifle)

STAFFORD: Sergeant Mossbruker carried a six-shot revolver the day he died. The bullets from that gun fit in the palm of my hand. Now here's the type of ammunition fired from Albert Petroski's .50-caliber rifle, some call it a sniper rifle. Each round is a half-inch wide and more than five inches long. This is the largest, most destructive round of ammunition legally available. Today, sniper rifles are enjoying their greatest popularity ever among civilians, and that has some people worried.

Mr. TOM DIAZ: What I'm trying to do is prevent a terrible tragedy in this country from happening with the use of this gun.

STAFFORD: (Voiceover) Tom Diaz is the senior analyst for the Violence Policy Center, a nonprofit institute, working to reduce gun violence and restrict the sale of .50-cals. In almost every jurisdiction in the country, the requirements for buying a .50-caliber rifle are no tougher than those for buying a hunting rifle. That means a background check and, in fewer than 10 states, some form of waiting period. We found the same gun purchased by Albert Petroski selling for $2200, although some .50-cals cost more than $7,000.

(Tom Diaz walking; gun store)

Unidentified Clerk: As .50s go, it is pretty much a bargain .50.

STAFFORD: (Voiceover) Even more alarming, says Diaz, the sale of used between individuals.

(Gun shop)

STAFFORD: What concerns you the most about the .50-caliber rifle?

Mr. DIAZ: It's not street crime, it's the potential for terrorism and assassination.

STAFFORD: (Voiceover) Diaz claims the guns are already falling into the wrong hands.

(David Koresh)

Mr. DAVID KORESH: You come pointing guns in the direction of my wives and my kids, damn it, I'll--I'll meet you at the door any time.

STAFFORD: (Voiceover) Inside his Branch Davidian compound, David Koresh had amassed a huge stockpile of weapons, all purchased legally. Fearing in part the threat of .50-caliber rifles, federal agents used heavily armored tanks during the siege. The standoff ended when the compound burned to the ground. Two .50-cals were later recovered by investigators. And several years ago, at an army checkpoint in Northern Ireland, Irish Republican Army snipers gunned down this British soldier with a US-made .50-caliber rifle. Diaz says the government needs to be as strict with .50-caliber rifles as it is with other weapons of war. Like machine guns, by subjecting buyers to background checks, fingerprinting, as well as registration with local and federal authorities. So police will know, as in the case of David Koresh, who owns the guns.

(Branch Davidian compound; David Koresh; tanks; fire; rifles; Ireland army checkpoint; sniper sign; soldier; rifle; machine gun; gun; ammunition)

Mr. RONNIE BARRETT: There is no need for any further legislation. Enforce the laws that we have.

STAFFORD: (Voiceover) Ronnie Barrett is considered the pioneer of the modern day .50-caliber rifle. Barrett built his first rifle 22 years ago. Today he has contracts with 50 governments worldwide, including the US military. Barrett says in addition to the military use of his rifles, there is a legitimate sporting use for them. The Fifty Caliber Shooters Association sponsors competitive long distance target shooting and provided this videotape to DATELINE. Members include doctors, lawyers and other professionals, who, Barrett says, clearly do not pose a threat.

(Gun shop; Barrett firearms video; Ronnie Barrett showing the rifle; rifles; Fifty Caliber Shooters Association video)

STAFFORD: Why should that same rifle be available on the civilian market? Why would a civilian need that here?

Mr. BARRETT: This is not why do you need a .50-caliber rifle. It's--it's a constitutional right. And you're not doing anything wrong. Nobody should be telling you what you can and can't have like that.

STAFFORD: (Voiceover) Barrett calls it a classic Second Amendment battle that dates back to the revolution.

(Barrett showing rifle)

STAFFORD: But they were using muskets, and we're talking about .50-caliber fires.

Mr. BARRETT: They--they were using the most sophisticated weaponry of their day.

STAFFORD: (Voiceover) Although Barrett's rifles were used by David Koresh and the IRA sniper, Ronnie Barrett says those are isolated incidents. That 22 years they've been on the civilian market, not one person has been killed in the United States with a .50-cal. Diaz concedes there are very few criminal incidents involving the .50-cal. But he says a tragedy is inevitable, why wait?

(Rifle in a car; gun shop; Diaz)

Mr. DIAZ: It's always easy after the fact to say, `Oh, my gosh, what were we thinking? We let these weapons of war out on our streets.'

STAFFORD: Don't you think a professional terrorist is still going to be able to get a hold of this weapon?

Mr. DIAZ: It's going to be harder for him to get a hold of it, and that's the whole point.

STAFFORD: (Voiceover) Diaz has allies at the Pentagon and in Congress who worry the .50-cal is a threat to national security. But so far, all of the proposed legislation, except for the new law in California, has failed.

(Congress; rifle)

STAFFORD: Ron Barrett says it's all right to have this weapon.

Mr. DIAZ: We're not saying ban them, we're saying we need to know who's got them.

(Voiceover) And we need to make sure they don't get in the hands of the wrong people.

(Rifle firing)

All contents © 2001 Violence Policy Center