Carjacking

I was talking to a friend the other day and she mentioned that a good friend of hers suffer a carjacking attempt.
She said they shot him through the window and that the clothing stopped the bullet.
I explained to her that that was very unlikely but she was positive about the projectile just penetrating her friend’s clothes, in his shoulder, but not going through the skin.
When I asked her if she remembered the caliber she said “22” and that started making more sense.
22LR wont usually penetrate a windshield. In this case he was shot through the door window so the projectile did go through, but with not enough energy to cause damage.
Notice I used the word “usually” before. There was an assassination a couple years ago and the weapon used was a 22LR pistol, apparently with a sound suppressor because people near by didn’t hear anything. The video images showed a car and a fist size cluster of 10 .22 holes in the windshield, right where the driver’s head would be. A 22LR penetrating or not will depend on: windshield type, angle of impact, ammunition used and firearm used. All these are variable, and while a 22LR is not likely to penetrate the windshield, at least not with enough energy to kill, you can’t take this as a sure thing.
38 Special may also fail to penetrate with certain rounds and at the right angle. Chances of failure are much lower than with 22LR, but there are cases.
Now, 9mm and above, it will go through barely slowing down at all, and it sure is lethal. It will also change the trajectory a bit, going low after penetrating the windshield.
Installing security film on your windshield and windows will improve resistance a bit, and even of greater importance, it will hold the window even after braking. This may give you some more time and avoid injuries.

Also, because of this reason and other attacks with rock or sticks, it’s important to wear security rate shades, to avoid eye injury and keep on driving after the windshield brakes.
Problem comes at night when shades can no longer we used. But then again, Wiley X makes light adjusting shades that adapt and become clear when it gets dark. These are nice additions for driving in “rough” territory and everyday use.

FerFAL