The Texas man who killed 26 people and left many more injured after he opened fire in the middle of a church service on Sunday used a Ruger AR-556 to carry out the senseless massacre.

It is a semi-automatic firearm that is frequently heralded in reviews for being easy to modify and highly customizable while still costing less than $800, which is half the price of most AR-15s and other military-style rifles.

That does not mean however that the gun is not just as deadly, with one video showing a young man shooting off 30 rounds on his AR-556 in just under five seconds without the aid of a bump stock or similar device.

The mass shooting at Sutherland Springs is now the latest attack to be carried out with an AR-15, which was also the weapon of choice for the gunmen in Orlando, San Bernardino, Sandy Hook, Aurora and Las Vegas.

Weapons of choice: Devin Patrick Kelley used a Ruger AR-556 (above) in his attack on Sunday that killed 26 churchgoers in Sutherland Springs, Texas

Arsenal: He also had a Glock (left) and Ruger 22 pistol (right) on him during the attack on Sunday.

It was not until 2004 that AR-15-style firearms were even available for nationwide purchase due to the restrictions created by the assault weapons ban, which when lifted in 2004 reintroduced the AR-15 and its variants to the marketplace.

Those few AR-15s that were available for purchase prior to 2004 all had a maximum magazine capacity of just 10 rounds, whereas now these weapons can be customized to hold as many as 50 rounds depending on state law.

It was a decade after that ban was lifted when the news that the Ruger AR-556 would be hitting the market was announced by the company.

The weapons can be outfitted with bump stocks, which was used in the Las Vegas attack in October, but the one Kelly had in his possession was not modified with such a device according tom officials.

Devin Patrick Kelley purchased his Ruger AR-556 in 2016 at a San Antonio sporting good store, passing the background check after falsely stating on his form that he had no criminal history despite an arrest for domestic abuse.

He also had a Glock and Ruger 22 pistol on him during the attack on Sunday.

One thing he did not have however was a license to be carrying firearms in the state of Texas, a hurdle he still managed to overcome with relative ease judging by the miniature arsenal he was carrying with him during the attack.

Shooter: Gun enthusiasts and retailers began stockpiling AR-15s last year out of fear Hillary Clinton would win the election (Devin Patrick Kelley above)

The maximum rate of fire is 90 rounds per minute, and after a few minutes at that rate the gun starts to overheat and accuracy is lost.

It is recommended that just 15 rounds are discharged per minute so that the barrel of the weapon does not start to warp from the heat.

These weapons became a very popular choice for gun buyers late last year, when many began to stockpile the firearms ahead of the election.

It will Bill Clinton who introduced the 1994 ban on assault weapons that restricted the purchase of AR-15s, and many believed that Hillary would enact similar measures if she were elected to office.

Stores and retailers behaved in a similar manner, purchasing hundreds and in some cases thousands of semi-automatic and military-style rifles in case a limit was introduced by the new commander-in-chief.

The popularity of the gun seems to lie in how easy it is to use and the cost, with the price tag of many AR-15s leading to many people trying to build their own rather than purchase the weapon from a retailer.

'Ruger is a company that was founded on the idea of providing the average Joe with quality firearms at fair prices,' reads a review of the firearm in American Rifleman.

'For those who are thinking of building an AR to save money, the AR-556 has a real-world price of around $600, which is right in line with a set of basic do-it-yourself components.'