Image courtesy the sun.co.uk:
The pistol used by the Berlin truck attack Jihadi looks a lot like a Walther. But it’s a clone, probably made by Erma Werke. The Erma 552S is nearly identical, but without markings, it’s hard to be certain. There’s also an Erma RX-22, which has a shorter extractor, a longer grip, longer slide and barrel, and an eight round magazine.
Clones of the Erma 552S were made and sold by Iver Johnson as the TP22. I’ve had a couple of them, and they have a deserved reputation for reliability and fair accuracy. The sights are fixed, so consider yourself fortunate if they’re on the money. Of the two that I shot, one was on, one wasn’t. The magazine holds seven rounds.
American Arms sold the PX-22. It’s virtually identical, but has “DESIGN BY ERMA WERKZ” roll mark on the frame. I have seen both wood and plastic grips on the Erma versions.
Erma and Iver Johnson also made .25 ACP versions. Erma even made an 8mm blank-firing model. The extractor on the blank firing version is shorter, so I doubt that this is a converted blank firing gun.
When the patrol approached him, he pulled a 22 calibre pistol from his backpack and shot one of the two police officers, Cristian Movio, 36, in the shoulder.
The Itallian police were working as a pair. The wounded policeman’s colleague Luca Scatà, is a rookie officer. Scatà returned fire, killing the Jihadi. The wounded officer is expected to recover.
©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.