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An all too familiar story in the United States, this week's school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, was the latest attack involving the lethal semi-automatic weapon the AR-15 rifle.

Despite calls to ban such weapons, sales are on the rise in the US, with a recent poll suggesting one in 20 adults (16 million) in the country own an AR-15.

But what makes their impact particularly devastating?

Dr Joseph Sakran, a trauma surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital and public health expert, who is himself a survivor of gun violence says, "when we are looking at the weapons and the devastating carnage that is imparted on the human body, there is a clear difference between these military style assault rifles and handguns."

He adds "it doesn't matter how world class your trauma centre is, the best medical treatment is often prevention".

When someone comes in with "pulverised organs and tissues.. there is often very little that you can do to bring those patients back."

(Photo: Deadly shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville. Credit: Reuters)

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