On May 2, 2011, SEAL Team Six breached Osama bin Laden’s Abbottadad, Pakistan compound and ended the life of the most wanted terrorist on earth, and the team member who actually shot bin Laden reportedly did so with a Heckler & Koch 416.
Fox News identified the SEAL Team Six member who fired the fatal shots as Rob O’Neill.
When the gun type was reported by other outlets, Breitbart News reached out to a former Navy SEAL for verification and he said the H&K 416 was “very likely” the gun used to take out bin Laden.
The Tribunist reported that the H&K 416 used in the raid had “a 10 inch barrel and a list of high dollar accessories.” This means the gun would have been an H&K 416 A5 (11″), as seen here:
Or an H&K 416 with a 10.4″ barrel, as seen here:
The Heckler and Koch website describes the 416 10.4″, saying:
Heckler and Koch developed the HK416 for U.S. special operations forces as a major product improvement of M4/M16-type carbines and rifles. Using the HK-proprietary gas piston system found on the G36, the HK416 does not introduce propellant gases and carbon fouling back into the weapon’s interior, making it the most reliable of any M4/M16 type weapon.
The HK416 has been combat-proven in Southwest Asia and has also gained worldwide attention of military, law enforcement, and security users. In April 2007, the HK416 was selected as the new Norwegian Army rifle. The 10.4 inch barrel model is the shortest, most compact variant and is widely used by special operations, law enforcement, and military units worldwide.
CNN recounted the details of the raid that ended bin Laden’s life:
May 2, 2011 – In the early morning hours (approximately mid-afternoon on May 1 in the United States), a group of 25 Navy Seals raid the compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
- They arrive outside the compound in two Black Hawk helicopters.
- The operation takes 40 minutes total.
- US Special Forces must breach the outer walls of the compound before fighting their way through the ground floor of the three-story building where bin Laden lived.
- The firefight then moves to the second and third floors where the bin Laden family lives.
- In the last 5-10 minutes of the firefight, bin Laden is killed by a gunshot wound to the head, above the left eye.
- Three men, including a son of bin Laden, are killed as well as one woman.
- Bin Laden’s body is identified by one of his wives. Facial recognition is used also.
When gun controllers see either of the above versions of the H&K 416, they may be quick to describe them as the same kind of AR-15 rifles that civilians buy stateside. However, military rifles and civilian rifles are far different. On the sides of both photographs of the 416 you will notice a selector switch that lets the firearm go from semi-automatic–which is the version civilians own–to fully automatic or three round bursts, both of which are used by military personnel. The civilian versions only resemble the military versions in shape and appearance.
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of Bullets with AWR Hawkins, a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
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