According to information released by police in the Małopolska region, the gunman in the Kraków shooting used a semi-automatic rifle similar to the American AR-15.
The weapon used by the attacker was most likely a semi-automatic rifle similar to the American AR-15, in 5.56x45mm caliber. According to posts on the X/Twitter account of Frag Out!, a Polish firearms magazine, it is a Diamondback DB15 rifle.
Photos from the scene of the tragedy show that the weapon was fitted with an optical sight. This type of equipment increases the accuracy of shots fired. The attacker also had a handgun (a pistol).
The AR-15 is a civilian version of the military M16 rifle, which is used (usually in modified and updated versions compared with the original) by many armies and police units around the world. The weapon is also popular on the civilian market in the United States. The AR-15 was developed in the U.S. in the 1950s and then, in 1962, adopted by the U.S. Army as the M16, becoming the standard automatic rifle of the U.S. armed forces and many other NATO countries for several decades. A shortened version of the weapon, the M4 carbine, is still in use.
The rifle has a theoretical rate of fire of 700-900 rounds per minute. It can use magazines holding 20 or 30 rounds. The weapon’s effective range is about 500 meters (about 1,640 feet). According to the Firearm Industry Trade Association, a U.S. association of firearms sellers, about 30-32 million AR-15 rifles of various versions are in civilian circulation in the United States. (PAP)
