| For over a decade, the Army encouraged contractors to produce ammunition to an excess capacity to keep production lines active. Without a war, the product instead goes to commercial retail markets, where the ammunition — cheap and available in bulk — falls easily into the hands of criminals.
In 2023, an investigation into Lake City by the Times tied the ammunition to a dozen mass shootings. But new data goes much further, showing how the sheer volume of Lake City's production has flooded the market and made its ammunition a presence in far more criminal investigations involving AR-15s than previously known — more than twice the rate of any other manufacturer.
"Why don't we have the full data for production and sales?" Kimberly Mata-Rubio, whose daughter Lexi was killed in the Uvalde shooting, said. "Is it because the government knows that it is subsidizing commercial ammo tied to domestic bloodshed?"
Army officials said they could not respond to the new findings due to the government shutdown. Read more here.
'CENSORSHIP DISGUISED AS LAW'
Five Peruvian investigative outlets, including several ICIJ media partners, are seeking to block a law they say threatens their ability to operate independently by expanding state oversight of nongovernmental organizations that receive foreign funding.
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Carmen Molina Acosta
ICIJ's digital producer | 
