LEWISTON, MAINE: The AR-15 rifle is America’s favorite semi-automatic rifle, as evidenced by the one in 20 Americans who own it.

Shorter than a baseball bat and lighter than a bowling ball, the AR-15s are affordable and easy to shoot, and their gentle recoil makes it easy to aim at targets.

The AR-15’s high-velocity bullets makes this rifle deadly — those who get shot with it, are quite literally eviscerated by the blast.

The aforementioned qualities make this rifle an absolute killing machine and the rifle model is the go-to 'weapon of choice' for mass shooters and other perps.

On Wednesday night, October 25, Lewiston, Maine, became the latest city to fall prey to the epidemic of mass shootings on American soil in 2023.

According to reports, at least 22 were killed and another 50 to 60 were left injured after a gunman armed with an AR-15-style rifle hunted down victims in a bar and grill, and bowling alley; locations that were guaranteed to be packed with people looking for a night of fun and relaxation.

Robert Card, 40, has been identified as at least one potential suspect in the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine last night, CBS reports.

The situation became so out-of-hand, that Lewiston and its neighboring city of Auburn were placed on lockdown, and the rising death toll prompted local hospitals to declare it as a "mass casualty" event.

People were asked to shelter in place and lock their doors by law enforcement agencies. Local schools in Maine will be closed on Thursday, October 26, in the wake of this horrible tragedy.

AR-15: The weapon of 'mass murder'

This year in March, Audrey Hale used an AR-15 and an arsenal of other firearms to murder three nine-year-olds and three adults at a Christian School in Nashville, Tennessee.

In April, Connor Sturgeon bought an AR-15 from a local dealer before shooting five of his co-workers dead at a Louisville, Kentucky bank.

In early May, shocking videos of dead bodies piled outside of a suburban Texas mall shocked the nation that has grown accustomed to tragedy.

Eight people died and seven were wounded when Mauricio Garcia, armed with an AR-15 and a handgun, stepped out of his car at Texas’ Allen Premium Outlets shopping center and opened fire.

According to an analysis by The Washington Post, before 2023, ten of the 17 deadliest U.S. mass shootings since 2012 involved AR-15s.

Stephen Paddock, the killer who sprayed bullets down at a Las Vegas concert used the rifle in 2017, as did the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooter in 2012.

The Robb Elementary School gunman, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, was also armed with an AR-15.

Those three shootings alone left more than a hundred people dead and all of them involved the use of AR-15 rifles.

But for enthusiasts of the weapon who call the AR-15 "America's Rifle," this is not reason enough to ban them outright.

How to balance a proud nation’s historic "right to bear arms" with the instinctive human desire to limit the horror of mass shootings?

Defenders of AR-15s have prized them for their maneuverability and firepower and resist the idea of federal laws infringing upon their sale and distribution.

It can be customized and modified to fit any user’s preferences. Websites offer a seemingly endless menu of muzzles, magazines, barrels, and triggers, available in multiple sizes, colors, and specifications.

It’s the diversity that firearm aficionados say makes the AR-15, dubbed the "Barbie doll for guys."

This weapon is appealing to gun owners participating in marksmanship competitions or those interested in home defense.

But, what makes this weapon particularly good for personal security purposes, makes them equally effective for storming a shopping mall, bank, or a school - or, most recently, a bowling alley - and killing a large number of innocent Americans, including children.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation, a firearm industry trade group, calls an AR-15 a "Sporting Rifle."

The group stresses that it's a semi-automatic weapon that only fires one round with each pull of the trigger, as opposed to a fully automatic one that continuously chambers and fires rounds.

An experienced gunman armed with a typical AR-15 can fire 45 to 100 bullets per minute.

Customized with a large-capacity ammunition magazine, the AR-15 can go up to firing 100-plus per minute, before a user is forced to pause and reload.

What is more, is that AR-15s can be modified by their owners to be even more deadly.

In the Las Vegas massacre of 2017, perpetrator Stephen Paddock modified his AR-15 with a ‘bump stock’ that made it fire at the rate of a machine gun.

This modification exploits the rifle’s natural recoil to make the firearm slide back and forth and ‘bump’ against the shooter’s finger, depressing the trigger at a nearly constant pace.

The 64-year-old killer fired at least 90 rounds in just 10 seconds.

Following the shooting, the then-Trump administration banned ‘bump stocks,’ prohibiting their sale. But the federal regulation was overturned by a court, a decision that the Biden Administration is appealing.

Lethality of the AR-15s

Perhaps the most troubling aspect of the weapon is the lethality of its bullets. The AR-15 takes a relatively small caliber round that contains a comparatively large amount of propellant.

When fired, these projectiles travel at three times the speed of those shot from handguns. And when the bullets strike, they create a shock wave that tears through vital organs and shatters bones.

A single bullet is enough to blow apart a skull.

The round leaves a gaping exit wound - sometimes softball-sized - that causes torrential bleeding. Such an injury is nearly always fatal unless treated immediately.

Pediatric trauma surgeon Dr. Liao told ABC’s Nightline that a child or an adult can bleed to death in as little as five minutes, as “a high-velocity firearm will create a giant hole in the body," that too with "missing tissue.”

Opponents argue that civilians have no need for such weapons that were first designed for use in the battlefield.

Tracing the origins of infamous rifle model

The original AR-15 was developed by US firm ArmaLite in the 1950s.

The initials A.R. stand for ArmaLite Rifle, and the number 15 signifies the model number.

Firearms manufacturer Colt bought the patent in 1959 and started producing the gun for military and civilian use.

In the early 1960s, the AR-15 became a favorite of the Pentagon during the Vietnam War.

It was later developed into the military’s fully automatic M16 rifle, still used by US soldiers today.

Colt still holds the trademark for producing AR-15s, but when the patent expired in 1977, competitors like Remington, Smith & Wesson, and Ruger started making their own versions.

Millions have been sold. But decades ago, customers weren’t interested, as civilians preferred handguns and traditional long rifles to combat-style weapons.

Handguns were exponentially lighter and more portable, while long rifles could be used as hunting tools.

It wasn’t until the early 2000s, following the horrors of 9/11 that there was an uptick in the interest in owning firearms. Riding the demand for more lethal weapons, AR-15 sales skyrocketed.

AR-15s make up 25% of all guns manufactured in the US

In 1994, AR-15s made up just 2.2 percent of all guns manufactured in America.

By 2019, that number rose to 25 percent of all firearms produced, according to data from the NSSF and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

But, what caused this shift?

The firearms industry had been struggling with stagnant sales for several years when the federal assault weapons ban expired in 2004.

The federal ban became law under the Bill Clinton administration in 1994, and prohibited the manufacturing of certain semi-automatic firearms, including AR-15s.

When Congress and President George W Bush’s administration declined to renew the ban, gunmakers saw an opportunity.

DPMS president Randy Luth suggested that the military’s use of the weapon during the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan and their marketing efforts made the guns more "attractive" to consumers.

“We made it look cool,” Luth told the Washington Post “The same reason you buy a Corvette.”

How much money have gunmakers earned from AR-15s?

A 2022 House Oversight Committee investigation determined that five major gunmakers - Daniel Defense, Bushmaster, Sig Sauer, Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc., and Sturm, Ruger & Co. have raked in a combined total of $1 billion in revenue over 10 years from the sale of AR-15s alone.

Daniel Defense, the maker of the DDM4 rifle used in the Uvalde slaughter in May of last year, made more than $120 million in AR-15-style rifle sales in 2021, up from $40 million in 2019.

Smith & Wesson, saw sales jump over the same period from $108 million to $253 million, while Sturm, Ruger & Co. saw earnings nearly triple from $39 million to more than $103 million.

The gun industry is now regaining its footing following a post-pandemic sales slump.

In 2020, new gun ownership rates hit a record 21 million, according to trade group National Shooting Sports Foundation.

But by 2022, the surge in gun sales subsided and purchases fell to 16.4 million - more comparable to pre-pandemic numbers.

In July of this year, Americans bought an estimated 1.19 million guns — a 17 percent decrease from last year, according to FBI data analyzed by gun watchdog site The Trace.

However, while fewer firearms are being sold, the business is still profitable. Gun makers like Smith & Wesson and Sturm, Ruger & Company have seen their declines stabilize, post-pandemic.

Smith & Wesson shares were up about 40 percent as of August this year, while Sturm, Ruger was up 2 percent.

Will AR-15s ever be banned?

The AR-15 has become, quite literally, a badge of honor for some pro-Second Amendment lawmakers.

Andrew Clyde, a Georgia Congressman and gun store owner, handed out gun-shaped pins to party members, who’ve worn them on their lapels on the floor of the US House.

Following the massacre in Nashville, Tennessee GOP Rep. Andy Ogles was slammed over a 2021 Christmas card that showed him and his family posing with assault rifles.

In February, Long Island Congressman George Santos even backed a bill to make the AR-15 assault rifle the "national gun of the United States."

To these lawmakers and many of their constituents, efforts to ban or restrict the sale of a certain type of firearms represent an unacceptable infringement on their rights.

But that’s not the opinion of a majority of Americans, as a Fox News Poll in April indicated that 61 percent of American voters support banning assault rifles and semi-automatic weapons.

This year, Washington joined California, New York, Illinois, and six other states in banning sales of AR-15s.

Just last week, the Massachusetts House approved a bill aimed at tightening firearm laws, cracking down on unregistered "ghost guns," and strengthening the state’s assault weapon ban.

The bill, which passed on a 120-38 vote, would also require key gun components to be serialized and registered with the state.

The same enthusiasm to ban guns hasn't been seen in red states. In May, Texas Republicans blocked a bill to raise the minimum age for purchasing semi-automatic firearms from 18 to 21.

After the mall attack in Allen, President Biden once again urged members of Congress to tighten gun control measures and bring back the long-expired federal assault weapons ban.

Until then, the AR-15 will inevitably make an appearance in more mass killings, like the most recent Lewiston slaughter.

“I am heartbroken for our city and our people,” Mayor Carl Sheline said in a statement. “Lewiston is known for our strength and grit and we will need both in the days to come.”