The complete story of AR-15, weapon used in Trump’s assassination attempt

When it comes to America’s vast gun culture, no weapon has become as ubiquitous and controversial as the AR-15, a type of semi-automatic rifle recovered by law enforcement at the scene of the attempted assassination of former President Donald J. Trump at his rally on Saturday. Billed as “America’s rifle” by the National Rifle Association and vilified as the weapon of choice for mass shooters, AR-15 is lauded as a status weapon seized on by many as a symbol of the right to bear arms.

Ironically, a stringent advocate of gun rights, republican candidate Donald Trump vowed to reverse all gun restrictions imposed by President Biden upon his re-election, earlier this year. Recognising the 45th President’s support to firearms, Kahr group and Auto-Ordnance manufactured the Trump series engraved “Commander in Chief” custom AR15 rifle to honor his motto.

In 2020, his eldest son Donald Trump Jr. posted a photo on Instagram flaunting an AR-15-style rifle bearing medieval symbols and a cartoon of Hillary Clinton behind bars.

The rifle has been embedded in American pop culture as a sign of power, masculinity, and heritage.

By some estimates, one in 20 Americans owns an AR-15-style weapon. Gun data statistics by researchers from Georgetown University in 2021 found that 24.6 million Americans own AR-15-style rifles. The data suggested that since many gun owners have multiple weapons, the total number of AR-15s in American hands could be as high as 44 million.

Since 2012, at least 200 people have been killed in mass shootings in the United States involving AR-15s. US gun sales reached a record 23 million in 2020, a 65% increase from 2019.

From Military Rifle To A Household Gadget

The AR-15 was first developed as a semi-automatic rifle for civilians in the 1950s by Armalite, a US firm after which the “AR” is named. In 1959, the design of the weapon was sold to another company, Colt, which soon adapted it into a military, fully automatic version known as the M-16.

The weapon first entered frontline service with the US Army in the mid-1960s, in the early stages of the Vietnam War. While the rifle was initially unpopular among US troops because of frequent jamming issues, production was expanded and in 1969, a modified version – the M16A1 – became the standard service weapon across the US military.

After the Vietnam War ended, Colt began marketing semi-automatic versions of the rifle to gun enthusiasts and police forces alike. Colt’s patent for the AR-15 expired in 1977. After that, other firearms manufacturers – such as Remington, Smith & Wesson and Ruger – began producing their own versions. Colt still holds the trademark to the term “AR-15” and other manufacturers’ versions go by different names, but these rifles are still popularly referred to as AR-15s.

While the manufacture, sale and possession of some of these guns was restricted under a US federal ban on semi-automatic assault weapons that was in place between 1994 and 2004, the ban didn’t apply to weapons made before 1994. Since the ban expired in 2004, the number of rifles manufactured in the United States increased threefold to four million in 2013.

A combined study of Northeastern University Mass Killing Database with US media, found that AR-15s have been used in ten of the 17 deadliest mass killings in the US that have taken place since 2012. These incidents include the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas that left 60 dead, as well as the Sandy Hook Massacre in Newton, Connecticut that killed 26 people – including 20 children.

During the 2004-2014 period, the M-16 rifle’s prominence surged as the US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were streamed in mainstream movies and series. The rifle is featured in most popular video games like PUBG, GTA III, GTA: Vice City, COD: Black Ops, COD Warzone and etc, making it a part of pop culture.

Why Is It So Popular?

Designed around the Pentagon’s desire for a lightweight weapon to match Soviet rifles such as the AK-47, the AR-15s fired small bullets at very fast speeds. The higher velocity meant the tiny projectiles became unstable when they penetrated a human body, causing devastating wounds.

Ease of use and the ability to customize it with various accessories and additions are also among the other reasons behind its popularity. But the real innovation was the addition of a small tube to redirect the gas from fired cartridges. The dampened recoil makes it easier to keep steady aim on a target.

The main functional difference between the military’s M16 and M4 rifles and a civilian AR-15 is the “burst” mode on many military models, which allow three rounds to be fired with one trigger pull. But in actual combat these technical differences are less significant than they seem.

In the past two decades, the AR-15 has evolved into an open, modular gadget that’s infinitely accessorizable. With only a few simple tools and no particular experience in gunsmithing, an AR-15 can be heavily modified, or even assembled from scratch, from widely available parts to suit the fancy of each individual user. In the Las Vegas SHOT (Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade) show this year, an iPhone was integrated as an AR-15 accessory.

Last year, photographs of hunting trips featuring Donald Trump’s sons, Eric and Donald Jr., to Africa with AR-style rifles reignited the debate on gun restrictions in the United States.

For Trump, the great irony is a 20-year-old registered Republican seeking to kill the pro-gun presidential candidate.