When shooting into a vehicle, how do the rounds generally behave?

When shooting into a vehicle, the rounds generally deflect downward due to the structure and materials of the vehicle. When a bullet strikes the metal and other materials that make up a vehicle's body, it can cause the bullet's path to change. This deflection can result from the angle at which the bullet hits the surface and the physical properties of the materials the bullet encounters, such as steel, glass, or plastics.

The downward deflection can affect the trajectory of the rounds significantly, which is an important factor for law enforcement and defensive shooting situations. Understanding this behavior is crucial for accurate shooting and for evaluating potential risks and collateral damage in urban environments.

Other potential behaviors, such as passing through unimpeded, do not account for the reality that most vehicles have barriers that will influence bullet behavior significantly, while deflecting upward or increasing in speed do not accurately reflect the physics involved in a bullet striking a vehicle.