Cheap “idiot-proof” rifle killed Phila. officer

It's called the "poor man's deer rifle."

Inexpensive, deadly, and fairly common, the gun that killed a Philadelphia police officer Saturday was originally designed for the Soviet Army in the mid 1940s.

The SKS carbine - considered simple and rugged - weighs about 8.5 pounds and can be bought legally for as little as $179. Instructions for cleaning and routine maintenance can be found on YouTube.

Considered "idiot proof," the SKS carbine became favorite of hunters in the American South when hundreds of thousands of them flooded the surplus market in the 1980s, authorities said.

Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski, 39, was in pursuit of a trio of armed bankrobbers when one of gunmen shot and killed the 14-year police department veteran.

The three gunmen were fleeing in an SUV after a heist that netted $38,000 from a Port Richmond bank. Liczbinski, first to spot the robbers, was close behind them.

The Jeep came to a stop. Liczbinski got out of his police cruiser.

"I'm going to let him have it," said ex-con Howard Cain before pulling the trigger on the semi-automatic.

Cain squeezed off five shots. Liczbinski collapsed.

The three gunmen ditched the SUV four blocks from where the officer lay dying.

Police cornered Cain, still brandishing his SKS, near the Roosevelt Boulevard. They shot him dead.

"Every gun tells a story," said Tony Robbins, of the ATF. "This one has its story, too."

The SKS sells for less than $200 in a legal gun shop or gun show, said Robbins, a special agent in charge at the Philadelphia field office of the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms.

"They're very cheap, but very deadly," Robbins said. "They're also pretty intimidating. They have a lot of firepower. That's why you'll see 'em the street"

The gun that killed officer Liczbinski was outfitted with a 30 cartridge magazine and fired a 7.62x39mm bullet, Robbins said.

An box of 800 surplus rounds can be bought on the internet for about $100.

Though unusual, "those rounds are out there," Robbins said. "These knuckleheads had 'em."

Cain, a convicted felon, would have been prohibited from purchasing or owning any gun, Robbins said.

Robbins would not comment on how Cain came to possess the gun or if the ATF has been able to trace the weapon.

"We're working on the origin of the gun," Robbins said. "We have substantial leads. Anything further than that, I really can't say."

The SKS dates to the mid-40s and was originally designed for the Soviet infantry. The Red Army replaced the SKS with the AK-47. The Chinese military bought the SKS manufacturing equipment and produced more than 8 million of them.