The man who shot former president Trump on Saturday reportedly used a DPMS-brand AR rifle purchased by his father.
That brand is now owned by the parent of South Carolina-based Palmetto State Armory, which Trump himself visited during a campaign stop in 2023 — taking photos with the owner and admiring a Glock handgun with his face engraved in the grip.
At the time, a Trump spokesman said the former president purchased the gun, which could have been illegal because he was under indictment last fall. Hours later, the spokesman clarified that Trump stopped short of completing the gun transaction.
A similar DPMS AR chambered to shoot 5.56 ammunition was one of the rifles used in the 2015 San Bernardino terrorism attack where a married extremist couple targeted a Christmas party at a banquet hall, killing 14 and wounding another 22.
Details about the rifle used Saturday have been slow to emerge as the FBI examines the weapon, officials told Fox News, but the company behind the named rifle has a long history, including being bought and sold several times recently.
DPMS stands for Defense Procurement Manufacturing Services. Founded in 1985, it was a defense contractor started by Randy Luth. Under Luth, the St. Cloud, Minnesota-based company was a fast-growing manufacturer of AR parts that eventually developed Panther Arms brand of firearms.
Weapons experts worldwide have suggested since Saturday that the AR used Saturday was a poor choice for effective long-range shooting. The shooter was perched on a rooftop approximately 150 yards away from the podium where Trump was speaking. It’s unclear if he used any optics to magnify his perspective.
Former Navy SEAL sniper and author Brandon Webb said a well-trained shooter would nonetheless have been much more accurate.
“At 200 yards, anyone trained on a rifle can shoot a golf ball repeatedly and a trained sniper knows this is an easy headshot, a tap in golf putt, even with iron sights,” Webb said in his “after action report” about the shooting.
About the DPMS AR rifle
Federal officials investigating the shooting said the AR rifle was “nothing special” since the ubiquitous rifles have taken on a standard look and shooting characteristics.
It has an average muzzle velocity around 2,800 feet per second — nearly three times the speed of sound, so bullets flying nearby sound like snaps or miniature sonic booms.
The rifles are roughly 32 inches long, including the stock, and weigh about 6.8 pounds. Most weapons in this line are replicas of the Army’s M4 in semi-automatic form. They’re all lightweight, gas-operated, air-cooled and magazine-fed weapons.
AR originally stood for “ArmaLite Rifle,” back when it was developed in the 1950s by a company for the military. Colt purchased the patents for AR-15, which has since expired. Clones of the AR platform are widely sold by dozens of brands in various calibers.
DPMS' current version of that AR sells for roughly $800.
Since the 2000s, DPMS has taken several forms and relocated manufacturing from Minnesota to Alabama in 2014.
Luth sold his company to a consortium of other firearms groups known as Freedom Group in 2007 – a group owned by private equity firm Cerberus. That firm combined with Remington Outdoor Company, which then went through a bankruptcy and then a massive lawsuit filed by the Sandy Hook shooting families.
In 2020, Remington’s bankruptcy auction sold DPMS to JJE Capital Holdings, which is owned by Jamin McCallum. JJE Capital's flagship brand and store is Palmetto State Armory brand in South Carolina.
John Roberts, chief legal officer at JJE Capital, confirmed the company acquired the DPMS name and intellectual property in 2020 and pointed out the firearm in question was likely manufactured and sold years before that change of ownership.
"JJE Capital did not manufacture or sell the firearm allegedly used and neither JJE Capital nor any of its affiliated entities own or have any direct or indirect affiliation with the manufacturer of that firearm," Roberts wrote to USA TODAY. "Like the rest of the nation, we condemn this senseless act of violence, and we are praying for President Trump, the other victims, and their families."
Weapon is banned in some states
Democrats in Colorado have attempted to ban semi-automatic rifles for years with a bill that lists a variety of AK and AR variants including: DPMS tactical rifles. The Illinois assault weapons ban also specifically calls out the DPMS rifles and, in July, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a challenge to that ban.
Currently, 10 states and the District of Columbia ban some type of assault-style weapons. Others limit large-capacity magazines.
Palmetto State Armory and DPMS posted on social media recently that they had filed amicus briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court defending the use of bump stocks.
Gun violence prevention groups like Everytown groups on the Trump shooter's gun apparent tie to Palmetto State Armory this week.
“When the gun lobby and gun industry act with impunity, no one — not even the former president — is safe," said Nick Suplina, senior vice president of law and policy at Everytown. "Palmetto State Armory has admitted that its goal is to make assault weapons commonplace in America, even though we know that a ‘guns everywhere’ agenda puts our communities at risk, as demonstrated by the shooting at the Trump rally last weekend."
Experts speculate why shooter missed Trump
Webb, the Navy SEAL, speculated that the 5.56 x 45 mm NATO ammunition the shooter used was highly susceptible to variations in wind and humidity.
“If the shooter sighted in the rifle in the spring and shot in the summer, the bullet impact could be up or down, left or right by two to three inches because of the hotter temps and faster velocity of the round,” Webb said. “This may have saved Trump’s life.”
Guy McCardle, an Army veteran, suggested that a combination of poor marksmanship, nerves, heat and the prone firing position likely contributed to the shooter missing Trump.
“If the shot would have hit the former President in the temple area, the results would have most likely been fatal,” McCardle said. “Snipers, however, don’t tend to aim for the head because it’s a relatively small target that bobs around a lot. They shoot toward the center of mass as that is where most of our vital organs are located.”
Nick Penzenstadler is a reporter on the USA TODAY investigations team, focusing primarily on firearms and consumer financial protection. Contact him at npenz@usatoday.com or @npenzenstadler, or on Signal at (720) 507-5273.
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