SAN ANTONIO — As the country continues confronting a rise in mass shootings, the Washington Post on Thursday took the step of releasing graphic, horrific images showing the damage and devastation inflicted by AR-15 rifles.
Such intense images of mass gun violence are rarely published in news reports, but the Post's executive editor, Sally Buzbee, wrote they sought "to advance the public's understanding of mass killers' increasing use of this readily available weapon... while being sensitive to victims' families and communities."
Many of the never-before-released images hit close to home in South Texas, depicting the inside of Robb Elementary School and First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs after mass shootings there in 2022 and 2017, respectively. They're part of a larger report called "Terror on Repeat," examining 11 mass killings in the U.S. from the past 11 years.
"I hope that people are moved by what they see, read and hear," said Silvia Foster-Frau, a national reporter with the Washington Post and one of the journalists behind the newspaper's series examining the impact of the AR-15.
"We would never show bodies without families' permission," she said. "Even though some families were open to that, we ultimately decided that the most important aspect of the story is showing how these everyday places like schools and churches, shopping malls, movie theaters can be instantly transformed by these AR-15 mass shootings."
The images coming out of the Israel-Hamas conflict overseas also played a role in the Post's decision.
"(With) the horrific images coming out of Israel and Gaza, we felt that it was important that we were not shielding Americans from the horrors that happened here at home," Foster-Frau said. "And the context of these AR-15-style rifles – and their incredible popularity and the way they are so commonly used in these mass shootings – just made us feel like it was really important for the public to know and see and understand that with their own eyes."
Foster-Frau says careful consideration was paid to the decisions of what images to release, saying the Post went through thousands.
Families of Robb Elementary victims have been mixed in their reactions. Some, like Brett Cross, whose son died in the May 2022 shooting, said he feels the photos are vital in a time when "America has become desensitized to the fact that children are being slaughtered with these weapons."
"I feel like people need to know what these guns do, these assault weapons," added Felicha Martinez, who son, Xavier Lopez, was gunned down at Robb. "But then again, I don't like it because those are our babies."
Still, other parents aware of the Post's incoming report this week pleaded with community members online not to share the images from the article.
Foster-Frau says it's her hope that if people do decide to read the report and look at the images, that they leave with more knowledge than they came in with.
"I hope they have a deeper understanding of the role these AR-15-style rifles play in mass shootings," she said.