Terrifying assault rifles on sale across America used to kill hundreds of innocents from Texas to Las Vegas
THE Texas church shooter who slaughtered 26 people yesterday used an AR-15 - a legal weapon favoured by mass killers - to carry out his deadly rampage.
Shooter Devin Kelley, 26, yesterday entered the tiny rural church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, armed with the weapon and opened fire on groups of defenceless worshippers.
The infamous AR-15 gun he used is a semi-automatic modelled on the military's M16, but is actually more of a category than a specific weapon.
The original AR-15 is created by manufacturer Colt, but there are hundreds of other variants on the market that allow owners to customise with different barrels, stocks and grips.
Unlike the M16, the weapon does not have a full-automatic mode. But users can attach a "bump stock" to allow it to legally mimic an automatic rifle.
The bump stock device replaces the butt of the gun, and allows it to "bounce" backwards during the kickback.
While this occurs, the user holds their trigger finger in place and the gun is rapidly fired over and over.
Contrary to popular beliefs, the AR in its name stands for Armalite, not assault rifle, after the company that first produced it in 1958.
It shoots .223 calibre rounds and is known as the "Lego" or "Barbie" of guns because of its versatility.
AR-15 owners claim the weapon differs greatly to an assault rifle, while critics ask what its purpose is given the .223 calibre is too small for hunting.
But both sides agree it is the most popular rifle in the US, given how easy it is to buy, shoot and customise.
The AR-15 has become the focus of campaigners demanding the US tighten its gun control laws after its use in nearly all of the country's worst modern mass shootings.
Just last month, Stephen Paddock used the AR-15 to carry out the most deadly shooting in the country's history.
Along with a more than a dozen other guns, it was used to open fire on concertgoers from his Mandalay Bay hotel room.
The gun was also used by 20-year-old Adam Lanza, who slaughtered 28 people - 20 of them kids - at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012.
Also in 2012 was the Aurora cinema shooting, where gunman James Holmes murdered 12 people when he opened fire in a theatre screening The Dark Knight movie.
Other notorious incidents involving the weapon include the San Bernardino shooting and the slaughter of five people in Chattanooga, Tennessee, both in 2015.
Pulse nightclub shooter Omar Mateen - who slaughtered 49 people - used a Sig Sauer MCX. Although it is not an AR-15, it is a strikingly similar descendent of the notorious gun.
Barack Obama tried unsuccessfully to ban the weapon in during his tenure in power, while Hillary Clinton went on the record last year calling for a ban.
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