Improvised prison weapons and tools

SHOTGUN

made from iron bedposts; charge made of pieces of lead from curtain tape and match-heads, to be ignited by AA batteries and a broken light bulb. On May 21, 1984 two inmates of a prison in Celle, Germany, took a jailer as a hostage, showed off their fire power by letting go at a pane of bullet-proof glass, and escaped by car.

Toilet paper shank

These are two photos of a weapon seized from an inmate at the Baraga Maximum Correctional Facility. The weapon is made out of toilet paper and it only took the inmate 4 hours to devise a way to make this weapon.

DOUBLE-BARRELED PISTOL

This gun was found along with other homemade firearms in the cell of two Celle prison inmates on November 15, 1984. The weapons had been made in the prison’s metal workshop. They were loaded with pieces of steel and match-heads.

RADIO TRANSMITTER/BUG

made of radio recorder parts by an inmate of Wolfenbüttel prison, Germany (battery is missing). Prisoners occasionally manage to install gizmos like this one in guard-rooms to be prepared for upcoming cell searches. Also suitable as a means of cell-to-cell communication among inmates. A standard radio serves as a receiver.

KNUCKLEDUSTER

with padded handle, made from a rasp that was presumably stolen from a prison workshop. The weapon was found in a cell in the prison of Wolfenbüttel, Germany, sometime around 1993.

WHIP

with razor blades. The grisly weapon was found around 1996 in ‘Santa Fu’ jail in Hamburg, Germany, in the cell of a drug addicted inmate after his failed attempt to extort a higher Methadone ration by threatening a female prison officer with a knife.

TATTOO GUN

DUMMY SUBMACHINE GUN

made from a grease injector, wood, a rubber sleeve, and tape. The mock weapon was found in 1994 in a prison workshop in Wolfenbüttel prison, Germany, after jailers were tipped off that an escape attempt was being planned.

CROSSBOW

Could accurately fire a dart 40 feet. It was built from 10 toothbrushes, a cigarette lighter, a section of ballpoint pen casing, a piece of wire coat hangar, a section of a pair of aluminum cafeteria tongs, assorted electrical components, pieces of yellow rubber gloves, some Kleenex, a piece of string, and a few screws. The darts were made from tightly rolled paper, Q-tips, aluminum foil found in cigarette packs, pieces of wire and masking tape.