How is the AR-15 rifle, the extremely lethal weapon that was used in the Texas massacre

The terrible balance of massacre committed at a Texas elementary school is closely related to the fact that the murderer, Salvador Ramoswas equipped with a civilian variant of a military assault rifle designed to take as many victims as possible in record time.

Known in the United States asAR-15″is a semi-automatic rifle that has multiple versions. Its military design is “M16″, which can be unloaded in automatic mode.

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Tuesday in Uvalde, Ramos killed 19 students and two teachers, despite the fact that the police were on the scene.

Salvador Ramos uploaded a photo of his rifles to Instagram.

But even before Over-the-counter AR-15s had already proven their sad efficacy in the series of shootings that plunged the United States into mourning.

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“There is no important difference between (these rifles) and military weapons”, highlights the Violence Policy Center, a specialized study center.

Whether during the July 2012 massacre at a Colorado movie theater (82 victims, 12 dead), the massacre five months later at a Connecticut elementary school (26 dead, 20 children), or the December 2015 jihadist attack on San Bernardino in California (36 people affected, 14 dead), these light rifles were used equipped with large capacity magazines, up to 30 bullets and more.

Members of a militia return fire while simulating an ambush wielding airsoft rifles that resemble their AR-15 weapons, as part of their training exercises in the woods of southern New Hampshire. (JOSEPH PREZIOSO / AFP).

One shooter, more than 500 victims

On Oct. 1, 2017, the 60-year-old who shot from the 32nd floor of his Las Vegas hotel, killing 58 and injuring around 500 in the middle of a country music concert, had several of those rifles.

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A month later, the man who murdered 25 people in a church in Texasin full religious service, also had an AR-15.

Like Nicholas Cruzthe young man who sowed death at Parkland High School in Florida on Valentine’s Day 2018.

In that same state in 2016, at a gay club in Orlandomore than one hundred victims fell under the bullets of a single aggressor equipped with this assault rifle: 49 died and several of the 53 survivors were seriously injured, given the extreme speed of the projectiles and their ability to destroy tissue.

“These weapons are used to commit terrible acts. They are called perfect killing machines. They propel bullets at breakneck speed that pass through bodies and cause terrible carnage.” declared at that time Joe Biden, then vice president of Barack Obama.

In 1994, the US Congress passed a law that banned assault rifles and some high-capacity magazines for ten years. The ban expired in 2004 and has never been renewed since then, despite multiple attempts. The idea of ​​a legislative backlash on the issue faded away.

In fact, the market for these extremely dangerous rifles is booming. Manufacturers present them as hunting, sports or recreational objects, or as the best answer to the need for self-defense of Americans.

Source: Elcomercio