Authorities: Suspect said he used AK-47 in El Paso shooting

EL PASO, Texas (AP) — Authorities say the man accused of killing 22 people and injuring about two dozen others in a Texas Walmart shooting told detectives he used an AK-47 assault rifle in the attack.

In an arrest warrant affidavit, a detective writes that 21-year-old Patrick Crusius described how he entered the store last weekend in the border city of El Paso with the weapon and multiple magazines.

“The defendant stated once inside the store he opened fire using his AK-47 shooting multiple innocent victims,” the detective writes.

An AK-style semi-automatic rifle is legal to buy in Texas as long as the person is at least 18 and not prohibited from purchasing or possessing a firearm. It generally sells in the range of $1,000 or more.

The best known AK is likely the AK-47 but there are a variety of similar models.

The AK-47 was developed in what was then the Soviet Union in the years after World War II. AK, which stands for Avtomat Kalashnikova, was designed by Mikhail Kalashnikov, a Russian general and arms designer. It tends to have a wooden stock and a curved, long detachable magazine.

Bullets fired by an AK are larger than those fired from an AR. But gun enthusiasts consider the AR to be faster and more accurate.

According to one gun website that reviews weapons, www.pewpewtactical.com, the “AK round has more knockdown power due to the heavier bullet but in the platform it is not as inherently accurate.”

The AK tends to have a harsher recoil than the AR.