On September 7, 2024, a gunman armed with an AR-15-style rifle fired down upon Interstate 75 near London, Kentucky, striking 12 cars and wounding five people. Authorities are still searching for the suspect, but according to the arrest affidavit, police recovered a Cobalt Kinetics AR-15 designed to fire .223 Remington/5.56mm NATO ammunition near his vehicle along with several additional magazines.
According to reports, the 32-year-old suspect — who was arrested in February for threatening his neighbor with a firearm — purchased the AR-15, a Holosun sight, and 1,000 rounds of ammunition from Center Target Firearms, a gun shop in London, Kentucky, for nearly $3,000 hours before the attack. No other details about the firearm or its accessories have been provided.
The shooting is yet another example of the danger posed by AR-15s and other military-style assault weapons. Days earlier, a 14-year-old student at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, was arrested after he allegedly used an AR-15-style rifle to kill two teachers and two students, and wound seven others. Investigators have not released further information about the rifle used in that shooting, such as its make, model, or caliber, however.
who is cobalt kinetics?
Cobalt Kinetics is a relatively small gun manufacturer in St. George, Utah, that produces high-end AR-15s ranging in price from roughly $2,000 to $3,500. According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the company produced just over 1,000 AR-15s in 2022. Cobalt Kinetics’ current catalog includes AR-15s designed for long-range shooting; short-barreled models equipped with arm braces, making them easier to conceal; gun parts; and silencers that muffle the sound of gunfire and make it difficult to determine where a shot originated.
When Cobalt Kinetics first opened its doors in 2014, the company not-so-subtly called its rifles “BAMFs,” or “Billet Aluminum Modern Firearms.”
Cobalt Kinetics also offers “shoot now, pay later” financing through Credova, which advertises that applicants can be approved “in seconds.” Customers may not even need to make a payment for 30 days. And like other gun makers, Cobalt Kinetics received a Paycheck Protection Program loan in 2020 despite record-breaking, industry-wide gun sales during the pandemic.
Finally, on social media, Cobalt Kinetics calls its followers the “Cobalt Cartel” and uses a number of irresponsible marketing tactics. As shown below, the company has used a video of a child firing one of its AR-15 to advertise silencers. Cobalt Kinetics also shows its rifles being used by men wearing military-style body armor and night-vision googles like special forces operators, though the company has not been awarded any U.S. military contracts. As discussed here, gun makers use militaristic imagery in their marketing materials as a way to legitimize their products for civilians. More examples of the company’s social media posts are shown below.
cobalt kinetics marketing examples
![An Instagram post from Cobalt Kinetics showing men skipping while holding AR-15s. The caption says “Have fun and learn thing[s].”](https://smokinggun.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Cobalt-Kinetics-Instagram-9.png)
