AR-15 Rifles Were Used in 26 Percent of the Last 80 Mass Shootings in America
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Of the last 80 mass shootings in the United States, more than a quarter, including Monday’s shooting in Boulder, Colorado, involved the use of AR-15 rifles.
A Newsweek analysis found that the semi-automatic rifle was used in 21 mass shootings over the past decade.
Among those incidents are some of the deadliest mass shootings in the nation’s history, including the Las Vegas shooting, which left 59 people dead; the Orlando, Florida, nightclub shooting, which killed 50; and the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut, which killed 28.
Colorado Grocery Store Shooting: Celebrities, Politicians And Other Public Figures React
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On Monday afternoon, a gunman opened fire at a grocery store in Boulder, killing 10 people, including 51-year-old veteran police officer Eric Talley, who was the first to report to the scene.
A senior law enforcement officer with the Boulder police told CNN that the weapon used was an AR-15-style rifle, the same type of weapon used in the 2018 Parkland, Florida, school shooting and the Colorado theater shooting in 2012.
While there’s no legal definition of a mass shooting, the federal government has said that the killing of at least four victims constitutes a mass murder.
AR-15-style assault rifles have been a common trend in some of the deadliest mass shootings. These weapons possess an enormous amount of killing power because they can inflict what one of their designers called “maximum wound effect.” These weapons are generally able to fire far more bullets at a faster rate than manual-action hunting rifles.
Assault weapons have become the target of many gun reform organizations pushing for states to ban these types of guns. Currently, only seven states and the District of Columbia prohibit assault weapons.
A 2018 study found that fatalities were lower when a federal ban on assault weapons was in effect between 1994 and 2004. State assault weapons bans have also been associated with a lower likelihood of an active shooter event. Colorado does not have an assault weapons ban.
However, gun rights advocates have defended the ownership of these weapons, arguing that they are among those protected by the Second Amendment.
Of the last 80 mass shootings in the country, an AR-15 gun was used in:
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