Colt stops production of deadly AR-15
BY STEPHEN STEWART A DEADLY rifle favoured by mass murderers has been taken off the market by an American gunmaker.
Manufacturer Colt revealed it will stop production of its semi-automatic AR-15.
The firm said there was a glut of “sporting rifles” on the US market and it wanted to focus on military and law enforcement contracts instead.
The AR-15 – the civilian version of the military’s M-16 – has been used in several recent mass shootings in the US, including the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, last year that claimed 17 lives.
It was also among the stockpile of weapons used by a gunman to kill 58 people and injure hundreds at a festival in Las Vegas in October 2017.
The AR-15 has been called the “most popular rifle in America” by the National Rifle Association, which estimates Americans own more than eight million of the guns.
Colt is the manufacturer most closely associated with the AR-15.
However, it has become a catch-all for a range of weapons that also include the Remington Bushmaster, the Smith & Wesson M&P15 and the Springfield Armory Saint.
Timothy D Lytton, an expert on the gun industry at Georgia State University, said public pressure in the wake of mass shootings may have influenced Colt’s decision. But he added it was unlikely to make it more difficult for buyers to get their hands on powerful weapons.
He said: “If there’s market demand, I’m sure there are other companies with the capacity to fill it.”