USA Today warned Americans on Wednesday of the possibility that a chainsaw bayonet could be strapped to an AR-15 rifle.
In a video posted to its Twitter page, the news publication attempted to explain the AR-15 rifle to its readership. The video detailed random components of an AR-15 like the trigger, buttstock, handguard, and sights but not other integral parts like the upper receiver, lower receiver, or grip.
It then showed a seemingly random collection of "possible modifications" to the AR-15, "some common, some rare." Examples included in the video were a 100-round magazine, shotgun attachment, and a novelty trigger crank. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, the publication warned of the existence of a chainsaw bayonet.
A look at the gun used in the Texas church shooting. https://t.co/xdxIf5fR77 pic.twitter.com/sUY1mCCLZC
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) November 8, 2017
Presumably, USA Today includes the chainsaw bayonet among the rare "possible modifications" as its existence doesn't extend beyond a joking proof of concept and is not readily available on the open market.
The publication's video then moved onto the specifics of the AR-15 the Texas church shooter allegedly used in his attack. Thankfully, the publication clarified in a follow-up tweet that it was not claiming the Texas church shooter used a "chainsaw bayonet" during his attack.
To clarify, the video shows both the shooter’s modifications, as well as other possible modifications. The shooter did not use a chainsaw bayonet.
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) November 8, 2017
The video was the subject of wide-spread mockery on Twitter in the hours after it was first published.