They are part of the so-called “distraction weapons”used when you want frighten or disable an enemy without killing him. A stun bomb itself is similar to military grenade common.
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When triggered, it ignites a chemical mixture that explodes with a loud bang, usually scattering a talcum cloud. There is also the smoke bombused for obscure the view; The flashbangwhich produces a glare which temporarily disorients the victim; and that of tear gaswhich irritates the eyes mucous membranes, nose, mouth and lungs, causing the person to sneeze, cry and cough heavily. But while military grenades drop metal shrapnel deadly, those with a moral effect are made with a plastic that disintegrates – so they don’t hurt anyone, at least in theory.
In practice, the explosions are strong enough to cause severe bruises on anyone nearby. “At high concentrations, even the tear gas it can be fatal. Therefore, the professionals who use these pumps have to be very trained«, says the delegate Mauricio Lemos Freirean expert on the subject, from the Coriolano Cobra Police Academy, in São Paulo.