Texas shooting: AR-15, the lethal assault rifle on American streets

Understanding what makes this weapon the most-preferred choice for some to execute cowardly and barbaric attacks on innocent people.

<I>Image: The AR-15 assault rifle. Photograph: Bridget Bennett/The Washington Post/Getty Images</I>

The United States witnessed one of the bloodiest school shootings in its history when an 18-year-old boy killed 19 children and two adults at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde town, Texas.

According to multiple reports, the boy went on a rampage with an assault rifle, AR-15 with a high-capacity magazine, before the law enforcement shot him down. 

It should be mentioned that to reduce the civilian crimes in the country, a law was enacted to ban assault weapons in 1994 but it expired in 2004. The ban had a positive impact in terms of a decline both in the use of assault guns in criminal activities and in terms of the number of firearm injuries and fatalities in mass shootings.

<I>Image: Members of the people shoot AR-15 rifles at a shooting range. Photograph: Spencer Platt/Getty Images</I>

Many of these shootings involved the AR-15 semi-automatic rifle. Let's understand what makes this weapon the most-preferred choice to carry out such attacks.

* The AR-15 assault weapon is the civilian sibling of a military assault rifle and is considered to be an exceptionally polarizing product of modern American industry. 

* The weapon was reportedly used in a number of mass shootings. These include incidents at Aurora, California, Connecticut, Newtown, Las Vegas, San Bernardino, Sutherland Springs, Texas, and Florida. In these shootings, over 150 people lost their lives and several were injured.

* The sale of this gun reached record levels during the presidency of Barack Obama and the 2016 presidential campaign.

* The word 'AR' is derived from the name of the gun's original maker ArmaLite, Inc. It stands for ArmaLite Rifle and not "assault rifle" or "automatic rifle" as is popularly perceived.

<I>Image: This is 223 ammunition for an AR-15 semi-automatic gun. Photograph: George Frey/Getty Images</I>

AR-15 rifle development history

The AR-15 was designed and developed in the late 1950s as a military rifle. It did not do well then. The company sold the design to Colt.

In 1963, the US military inducted this weapon into its fleet to be used in the Vietnam War. Back then, it was known as the M-16. The company also sold its automatic version to law enforcement. Among the common people, it was marketed as the AR-15.

In the 1970s, many other companies in the United States started producing the AR-15 after Colt's patent expired.

How lethal is the AR-15 assault rifle?

The bullets fired by AR-15 travel at a higher velocity than any other gun. It is considered to be more lethal and dangerous than any other gun. 

The damage it causes is the outcome of the energy they impart as they pass through the body. Its bullet leaves the barrel, moving almost three times faster and imparting over three times more energy than a 9mm bullet from a handgun. 

The semi-automatic rifle has a magazine cartridge with 50 rounds, which allows many more lethal bullets to be delivered quickly without reloading.