Killings of Law Enforcement Officers Spiked 89% in 2014

The number of law enforcement officers who have been killed in the line of duty over the past year has nearly doubled – with most of them dying after they were shot by gun-carrying criminals, according to  the FBI .

Fifty-one officers were “feloniously” killed in 2014, as compared to 27 the year prior, the FBI said Monday in its 2014 Preliminary statistics for law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. Criminal offenders used firearms in 46 of the 51 deaths, the report showed.

The majority of the time, criminals used handguns to shoot the officers, killing 32 officers, of the remaining deadly incidents 11 officers were killed with rifles, three with shotguns, four were struck by vehicles and one was killed by a criminal who used his body as a weapon, the statement shows.

“Thirty-five of the slain officers were confirmed to be wearing body armor at the times of the incidents,” the statement reads. “Five of the 51 officers killed fired their own weapons, and six officers attempted to fire their service weapons. Seven victim officers had their weapons stolen; one officer was killed with his own weapon,” the Washington Times reports.