On Sunday, April 19, 2026, a 31-year-old gunman shot and killed eight children — seven of his own kids and one of their cousins, all between the ages of 3 and 11 — and wounded his wife and another woman in Shreveport, Louisiana. After carrying out the country’s deadliest mass shooting in two years, the gunman died in an exchange of gunfire with police.
The suspected shooter reportedly pleaded guilty to a weapons charge in 2019, raising questions about how he obtained a firearm. But on April 21, 2026, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Louisiana announced that it had filed charges against another man, age 56, for “being a felon in possession of a firearm and making a false statement to federal agents” regarding the gun used in the Shreveport mass shooting.
According to USA Today, authorities traced the firearm recovered from the scene — a .22-caliber Mossberg 715P assault pistol — back to a woman who purchased it in February 2025. The federal complaint alleges that she gave the gun to the 56-year-old, who knew he couldn’t have one as a convicted felon, while she was in the hospital. The 56-year-old says that the suspected shooter stole the gun from his truck in March.
More on the Mossberg 715P
Headquartered in New Haven, Connecticut, with a large factory in Eagle Pass, Texas, Mossberg is currently the country’s largest manufacturer of shotguns. The company also produces bolt-action rifles and spent several years making AR-style rifles.
Mossberg introduced the 715T, its first .22-caliber rifle styled after an AR-15, in 2010. As one gun writer put it, Mossberg was “trying to cash in on the AR craze sweeping the country,” a reference to the gun industry’s attempts to popularize AR-15s and other assault weapons after the federal ban expired in 2004. The 715T featured an AR-style pistol grip, collapsible stock, and handguard that could accept “lights, lasers and other common AR-type accessories.”
In 2014, Mossberg unveiled a stock-less “pistol” version, dubbed the 715P, that came with a 25-round magazine and cost less than $300. While Mossberg has since discontinued it, gun retailers still list it as a “fun .22 pistol” that is “easy to shoot” and “perfect for small game hunting, plinking or target shooting.”
MOSSBERG AND GUN INDUSTRY MARKETING
Given that eight children were killed in the Shreveport mass shooting — and the fact that guns have been the leading cause of death for children and teens since 2020 — the gun industry’s practice of marketing guns to that demographic deserves further scrutiny.
For example, in 2014, Mossberg issued a press release boasting that it had developed 45 firearms “specifically for smaller-statured or younger shooters,” making it the “leader in the development and design of firearms for younger and small-statured shooters.” The press release advertised Mossberg’s “2014 Youth Catalog,” which included depictions of children using Mossberg products.
The company has released several “Bantam” shotguns and rifles over the years “built with all the features and innovation found in our full-sized lines,” but with adjustable stocks “that can be lengthened to accommodate growing shooters, or modified to give smaller-statured shooters a perfect fit.” According to Mossberg, the guns can help “smaller-statured shooters get a more customized fit” so they can “make the most of every shot.”
Mossberg has promoted the 715T as a “youth” platform, but it has not marketed the 715P for use in teaching children to shoot. One writer recommended the “cool-looking .22” to “teach the kids the fundamentals.” (The .22 Long Rifle caliber is a popular choice for teaching children how to shoot because of its light recoil.) Another said that he “brought a couple of young family members along” to test the gun at the range and “forced them to endure the fun, which they did — so much so that I barely got a turn.”
Some gun makers have gone further by creating .22-caliber ARs — like the Mossberg 715P — and showing them in the hands of young children in their marketing materials. For example, Smith & Wesson and Mountain Billy Gun Lab (formerly Wee1 Tactical) have posted photos and videos of children using their .22-caliber M&P15-22 and GOAT-15 rifles on social media, respectively.