The maker of the rifle used in the Texas elementary school shooting is facing fresh outrage over an advertisement featuring a young child posted days before the killings.
Georgia-based Daniel Defense, which manufacturers the gun used in the Uvalde mass shooting where 21 people died, posted an ad on Twitter on 16 May showing a toddler holding a rifle, with the caption: “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
The child, wearing a shirt reading “Rascal”, sits cross-legged with the rifle in both hands as a partially visible adult points at him.
Daniel Defense is one of the largest privately owned rifle manufacturers in the US. Founded by Marty Daniel, it was already known for controversial ads that have broken with industry standards.
One ad from 2014 involved a fictional Marine talking about defending his wife and baby using Daniel Defense products. It was rejected for a televised slot during the Super Bowl.
The company’s social media ads often blend Bible verses with images of their guns. In an Easter-themed post on 17 April of this year, the caption “He is Risen!” ran underneath an image of a cross, atop a rifle, lying on an open Bible.
The Uvalde attack is also not the first time that Daniel Defense weapons have been involved in a mass shooting. Guns manufactured by the company were in the arsenal of the gunman who killed 58 people and injured more than 500 in Las Vegas in 2017.
Months before that attack Daniel Defense had acknowledged the impact of high-profile shootings on gun sales.
“The mass shooting at Sandy Hook elementary in 2012 drove a lot of sales,” Daniel told Forbes. “That was a horrible event and we don’t use those kinds of terrible things to drive sales but when people see politicians start talking about gun control, they have this fear and they go out and buy guns.”
In the aftermath of Uvalde, gunmaker stock prices have risen, reports Fortune. Shares of Sturm, Ruger & Company rose by about 5.8% and Smith & Wesson is up 10%.
Daniel Defense released a statement after the shootings in Uvalde saying: “We are deeply saddened by the tragic events in Texas this week. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and community devastated by this evil act.”
The company has locked its Twitter account, limited comments on its Facebook page and pulled out of Friday’s National Rifle Association conference in Houston.
