OXFORD, Mich. — The pistol that allegedly was used in the Oxford High School attack is a firearm used by police and militaries worldwide that's been discontinued by the manufacturer, local gun dealers say.
Sig Sauer introduced the SP 2022 in 2002 as a service weapon in France for the Gendarmerie, the police division that's responsible for patrolling small towns and rural areas, and the country's Customs Agency and National Police. The gun was designed to have a 20-year service life, hence the model name.
The firearm is still available in Metro Detroit but is not particularly popular among gun enthusiasts, dealers say.
"They quit manufacturing it a few years ago, and the only way stores would have it new is if they had it in their inventory for a while," said William Kucyk, owner of Action Impact Firearms & Training Center in Southfield and Eastpointe. "Sometimes, distributors will buy a boatload of a certain product and have them leftover after they stop being made. It's been a few years since we carried that model."
Ethan Crumbley, the 15-year-old alleged shooter, was with his father, James Crumbley, on Nov. 26 when the father bought the 9 mm semi-automatic pistol at Acme Shooting Goods in Oxford, police said.
His mother, Jennifer Crumbley, posted a picture of the weapon on social media, police and prosecutors said, with the caption, "Mom & son day testing out his new Xmas present. My first time shooting a 9mm I hit the bullseye."
The picture shows the pistol inside a padded box with one clip in the gun and two beside it, laid over a Youth Handgun Safety Act Notice pamphlet from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The Youth Handgun Safety Act Notice states: "The misuse of handguns is a leading contributor to juvenile violence and fatalities," and "safely storing and securing firearms away from children will help prevent the unlawful possession of handguns by juveniles, stop accidents, and save lives."
In the four days between the purchase of the gun and the Nov. 30 shooting, Ethan Crumbley posted pictures of the pistol and a target on social media, police and prosecutors said. One Instagram photo shows a hand holding the gun with the caption, "Just got my new beauty today. SIG SAUER 9mm. Ask any questions I will answer."
Authorities in multiple countries, including the United States, have used the gun. In 2004, the U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command at the Rock Island Arsenal in Arsenal Island, Illinois, purchased 5,000 SP 2022 pistols chambered in 9 mm.
Police or military personnel in Colombia, Peru, Malaysia, Bulgaria, Trinidad, Portugal and Switzerland have also used the model.
The Model 2022 also has been popular in Hollywood.
The gun appeared in the 2014 video game “World of Guns: Gun Disassembly” and in a handful of television shows. It also has been featured in more than a dozen movies since 2006, according to the Internet Movie Firearms Database.
Most recently, French police used the model in “Mission Impossible – Fallout,” and actors William Navarro in 2009’s “Hallelujah” (character Gendarme Simon), Matt Damon in 2007’s “The Bourne Ultimatum” (character Jason Bourne) and Etienne Chicot in the 2006 film “The Da Vinci Code” (character Lt. Jerome Collet) all carried the weapon.
The pistol's frame is made of polymer, with a slide machined from stainless steel. The gun is available chambered in 9 mm, .40-caliber and .357 SIG versions. The standard magazine for the 9 mm model holds 15 rounds.
Prosecutors say the Crumbleys were aware their son had access to the gun and had been alerted by school staff that he was searching for ammunition on his phone a day before the shooting.
His parents also were called to the school the morning of the shooting after a teacher, according to authorities, saw a piece of paper in front of the teen with the words "the thoughts won't stop, help me" and a drawing of a bullet and the phrase: "blood everywhere." His parents were asked to take him home but did not.
That day, Ethan Crumbley allegedly smuggled the gun and three 15-round magazines into the school and went on a shooting spree, killing Hana St. Juliana, 14; Madisyn Baldwin, 17; Tate Myre, 16; and Justin Shilling, 17, while wounding six other students and a teacher.
The teen is charged as an adult and faces four counts of first-degree murder among other charges. His parents are charged with four counts each of involuntary manslaughter.
'Sold OK at first'
Despite its use by police and militaries across the world, local gun store owners and employees said the gun never caught hold with the firearms-buying public.
Firearms dealers said the Model SP 2022, which is 7.4 inches long and caters to the concealed carry market, was discontinued a few years ago after Sig Sauer introduced better products.
Emails and phone calls to Newington, New Hampshire-based Sig Sauer were not returned.
"(The SP 2022) may have sold OK at first, but then the (Sig Sauer) P320 came out with a lot of improvements (in 2014) and more people were buying that," said John Thompson, an employee at IFA Tactical in Sterling Heights. "There was a reliability issue over the long term with the 2022. It just wasn't that great of a gun, in my opinion."
Thompson said he hasn't sold the SP 2022 model for "a few years."
Dunham's Sports has a sale on the SP 2022 model — $599, which is $50 less than the listed $649 price. According to the company's website and store employees, the models are in stock throughout Metro Detroit.
Sig Sauer's website lists multiple independent Metro Detroit gun shops as selling the Model 2022 from $599 to $699. However, when contacted by The Detroit News, employees of the stores listed on the manufacturer's website, including IFA, Target Sports in Royal Oak and Huron Valley Guns in New Hudson, said they no longer carry the model.
Acme Shooting Goods, which did not return a message from The Detroit News, does not appear on the Sig Sauer website as one of the vendors selling the 2022 model.
The average price of an SP 2022 pistol is $571.27 new and $472.28 used, according to truegunvalue.com.
"The new value of a SIG SAUER SP2022 pistol has fallen ($60.91) dollars over the past 12 months," the website said.
Firearms instructor and advocate Rick Ector, owner of Rick's Firearm Academy of Detroit, said the SP 2022 model never was particularly popular.
"All guns are popular right now, but I've never heard of the 2022 as being one of the more popular ones," Ector said. "It's still a seller's market, and sometimes people will go into the gun shop to buy a certain model, but they end up settling for what's there."
Gun sales remain high
According to consulting group Small Arms Analytics and Forecasting, Americans have purchased more than 18 million guns this year, the second-most sales in at least 20 years. Last year saw a record 22.8 million guns sold, smashing the previous record of 16.7 million guns sold in 2016.
For years, 9 mm pistols and ammunition have been the most popular among gun buyers. Police departments across the country, including Detroit police, have switched to 9 mm pistols, in part, because the rounds are cheaper than higher-caliber ammunition.
While there was a severe ammunition shortage last year and earlier this year, particularly with 9 mm rounds, firearms dealers and advocates say the drought has ended, although the price of ammunition has skyrocketed.
Michigan, meanwhile, does not have a waiting period for gun buyers who are also purchasing ammunition. It is illegal in the state to sell ammunition to anyone under indictment for a felony or who is otherwise prohibited from owning or possessing a weapon.
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