Washington Post Publishes Comprehensive Account of AR-15 Shootings

The report, drawing on an extensive review of photographs, videos, and police investigative files, aims to advance public understanding of the devastation caused by the AR-15, a weapon increasingly used in the country's deadliest mass killings.

The Washington Post has published a comprehensive account of the devastation caused by AR-15 shootings, drawing on photographs, videos, and police investigative files from 11 mass killings between 2012 and 2023.
The AR-15, originally designed for military combat, has become one of the best-selling firearms on the U.S. market and is now used more than any other in the country’s deadliest mass killings.
The report includes never-before-released pictures taken by law enforcement officials after shootings inside Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Tex., in 2022, and the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Tex., in 2017.
The Post's decision to publish graphic content came after careful deliberation, with the goal of advancing the public’s understanding of mass killers’ increasing use of the AR-15, while being sensitive to victims’ families and communities directly affected by AR-15 shootings.
The report is largely narrated by those who experienced the shootings firsthand, revealing the commonalities shared by each tragedy — the sudden transition from normal life to terror, then the onset of chaos, destruction and death, and, finally, the gruesome aftermath of investigation and cleanup.