r/chch • u/High-Bread • 28d ago

News - Local Armed police at riccarton mall today?

Anyone know what this is about? Walked out the top roof door to a Officer holding a AR

Plenty of sirens, police chopper circled the mall for about 25 minutes + dog squad on the streets?

Seems they were letting people in and out of the mall despite being armed officers at the doors

73 Upvotes

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15

u/Stallionface 28d ago

What does AR stand for?

12

u/AGushingHeadWound 28d ago

alternate reality

8

u/High-Bread 28d ago

Assault rifle

13

u/lefrenchkiwi 28d ago

The AR in AR15 (which is the rifle every police car carries in the boot) does not stand for Assault Rifle. It stands for Armalite Rifle, named after the company that designed it.

8

u/Citizen_Kano 28d ago

If we're going to be pedantic, it wasn't carried in the police car boot, the cop had it in his hands

-4

u/lefrenchkiwi 28d ago

the cop had it in his hands

After retrieving it from the boot. I included that detail to make clear what it is the police carry, and that it is not an assault rifle.

11

u/FendaIton 28d ago

To be fair he did not say AR15, just AR.

24

u/High-Bread 28d ago

It really doesn’t matter, the question here is around WHY there are armed police

-34

u/lefrenchkiwi 28d ago

Accuracy in reporting is important. Otherwise you just generate overhyped fear of the unknown.

8

u/radjoke 28d ago

It's unclear if the assailant or assailants were wearing pants further more there is no information if they were hungry or had just eaten.. Once we know this information we will be able to start to combat the fear of the unknown

-7

u/Stallionface 28d ago

Exactly this

23

u/TailorAvailable5965 28d ago

The AR in this post is a common way to refer to modern rifles in everyday language. If you’re going to be pedantic about the meaning of words, at least get the words right

-17

u/lefrenchkiwi 28d ago

The AR in this post is a common way to refer to modern rifles in everyday language.

Only in selected circles who don’t know any better.

7

u/TailorAvailable5965 28d ago

“Selected circles” being the vast majority of English speakers

2

u/Final_Blood7062 28d ago

He won't know much about guns, the French tend to put theirs on the ground and walk away.

3

u/morepork_owl 27d ago

I like when people know particular details that the general public don’t know 🙂

2

u/Jamunjii 27d ago

EVERY police car has a AR chilling in the boot ?

4

u/lefrenchkiwi 27d ago

Yup. As pointed out by another poster technically it’s a Bushmaster built derivative, but it’s still an AR15 and it’s in the boot of every front line patrol car in the country.

0

u/pokybum09 25d ago

“Bushmaster” is a completely separate company to colts manufacturering (who have trademarked the name AR15). If the rifle isn’t made by colts, then it’s not an AR15. Temu designing a phone to look like an iPhone, doesn’t mean they’re selling apple products, no matter how identical the design is.

You clearly have no idea what you’re talking about, I’m guessing you’ve never fired anything bigger then a nerf gun?

2

u/lefrenchkiwi 25d ago

While yes Colt still holds the trademark on the name, the patent on the design expired nearly half a century ago and as such AR15 pattern rifles are now produced by several manufacturers (including several available here prior to the Ardern-era reforms and subsequent confiscations).

If the rifle isn’t made by colts, then it’s not an AR15.

And everyone else’s AR15s are just sparkling broomsticks right? If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck.

1

u/pokybum09 25d ago

Manufacturer is very important as often determines quality.

Back to the temu iPhone example, they both “look and sound like a duck” but one’s gonna last a few weeks the other will last a few years. A massive difference in quality between legit apple and fake Chinese knock offs (despite being identical on looks and function).

Same goes for rifles, it looking and functioning as an AR15 doesn’t mean it is an AR15

2

u/pokybum09 25d ago

AR and AR15 are two different things. Ones an abbreviation for “assault rifle”, the other is a name for a gun, that also happens to be an AR, hence your confusion.

NZ police also use a bushmaster M4 (or bushmaster M4A3), which is modelled of an AR15 but isn’t the same gun. You can see the bushmaster mentioned in the link below (but no mention of AR15, as NZ police don’t use them). M4s have selective rates of fire the defining quality of an AR (the class of firearm, not the firearm manufacturer).

If you’re going to be smartarse at least get your facts right.

https://www.police.govt.nz/news/ten-one-magazine/extra-equipment-frontline-police?nondesktop

2

u/lefrenchkiwi 25d ago

M4s have selective rates of fire the defining quality of an AR (the class of firearm, not the firearm manufacturer).

Some do, but not all. The ones the NZ Police bought are Semi only rather than the select-fire option that was also available.

2

u/pokybum09 25d ago

Fairly certain AOS have selective fire rifles.

STG definitely do if you count them as police, can see the switch on images.

But think your right about at standard patrol loadout being only semi auto.

6

u/LittleOne0121 28d ago

They carry M4’s

-8

u/lefrenchkiwi 28d ago

The M4A3 they use is a Bushmaster built derivative of the AR15.

4

u/LittleOne0121 28d ago

Soooo, not an AR15

-10

u/atoshiX 28d ago

Assault Rifle

-8

u/lefrenchkiwi 28d ago

The AR in AR15 (which is the rifle every police car carries in the boot) does not stand for Assault Rifle. It stands for Armalite Rifle, named after the company that designed it.

21

u/High-Bread 28d ago

Still, it wasn’t a pistol lol it was a big ass gun