Richard A. Oppel Jr.

Richard A. Oppel Jr. is an American journalist who has reported for The New York Times from Iraq, Israel and Washington, D.C. He is a graduate of Duke University.

Quotes

 * Newtown. San Bernardino. Las Vegas. Sutherland Springs. And now, Parkland. Five of the six deadliest mass shootings of the past six years in the United States. In each of them, the gunman had an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle.


 * Among the six deadliest mass shootings in the last six years, the only one not carried out with an AR-15 style rifle was the Orlando nightclub attack two years ago that left 49 dead. The gunman, Omar Mateen, had a Sig Sauer MCX semiautomatic rifle, which shares features with the AR-15, though it functions via a different semiautomatic design — and is just as deadly. All of these military-style semiautomatic weapons have something else in common. They have been heavily marketed as home-defense and marksmanship weapons, and their sales have been a major driver of profits for gun manufacturers over the past two decades.


 * The N.R.A. calls the AR-15 the most popular rifle in America. The carnage in Florida on Wednesday that left at least 17 dead seemed to confirm that the rifle and its variants have also become the weapons of choice for mass killers.


 * A vast majority of guns used in 19 recent mass shootings were bought legally and with a federal background check. At least nine gunmen had criminal histories or documented mental health problems that did not prevent them from obtaining their weapons.


 * The man accused of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, Robert Bowers, legally purchased the guns he used to kill 11 people in what is believed to be the deadliest attack against the Jewish community in the United States, according to the federal authorities. Officials have said Mr. Bowers used four guns — an AR-15 assault rifle and three Glock .357 handguns — in his shooting spree at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh on Saturday morning. An investigation has concluded that the guns were “acquired and possessed legally by Bowers,” the Philadelphia office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said on Tuesday. Mr. Bowers did not fall into any category barred from gun ownership under federal law, including felons, convicted domestic abusers, dishonorably discharged veterans, or people adjudicated to be mentally ill or subject to certain restraining orders.