The United States presidential candidate Donald Trump became a target of an assassination attempt during his speech in Butler, Pennsylvania. According to preliminary information, the attacker is Thomas Matthew Crooks of 20 y.o., he shot a bullet wounding Trump's ear.
Despite the attempt resulting only in an injury, a mere few centimeters could become lethal to the politician running for presidency in the U.S. Then, the gunner fired several more shots, killing one and injuring two other people at the event. Almost immediately, the Secret Service opened fire back, killing the shooter.
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The assaulter, according to police reports, was located on the roof of a nearby building, he was armed with an AR-15 rifle. The shot distance was around 120 to 135 meters, information varies in the media.
Generally, the AR-15 is a very popular semi-automatic rifle in the U.S. and across the globe. In the military configuration, it has an automatic firing mode, comes in the 5.56mm caliber, and is also known as the M16.
Though we should note, the AR-15 designation refers to a whole big family of rifles in various calibers, barrel lengths, and lots of customization options far beyond simply adding sniper optics and a suppressor.
As of now, the American law enforcement services have not issued the photo of the attacker's weapon, rendering exact identification not feasible. However, the most widely spread on the U.S. civilian market version of AR-15 is the one fed with .223 Remington cartridges, with a 16-inch barrel. Still, once again, there are versions with a 20-inch barrel and some exotic calibers like the 6.5mm, for example.
Now speaking of the difficulty of the shot from 120 meters, it's not impossible for a marksman with basic skills to hit a human-sized target from such a distance. For instance, a U.S. Army soldier upon completing his boot camp is required to hit 23 out of 40 targets from the prone position at distances 5 to 300 meters.
Nonetheless, there is a rift of a difference between shooting at a firing range and a real attempt to assassinate a person knowing this could be the last thing you'd do in your life.
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