Graphics/Photo Credit: Semmi W. x Oleska

In the surveillance clip making the rounds this week, a man calmly enters a Midtown Manhattan building in broad daylight carrying what appears to be an AR-15. Several people are in the background behind him; sitting down, walking, and talking, either unaware or frozen in disbelief. He is able to make his way toward a heavily secured, busy area and commit a mass shooting. The footage is brief, but the image lingers: Shane Tamura is holding an assault weapon like luggage, openly before even entering the doors.

Photo Credit: Obtained by CNN

Tamura left behind a suicide note claiming to suffer from CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy) a diagnosis that, while often cited in connection with traumatic brain injuries in athletes and soldiers, has not been medically proven. What has been confirmed is this: he legally acquired the weapon in another state (despite mental health concerns) and transported it into New York, bypassing local assault weapon bans.

Despite years of mass shootings across schools, grocery stores, festivals, and now even professional offices, federal laws around gun access in the United States have barely changed.

And yet, as the week’s series of GFW data visuals demonstrate below, the U.S. already has more firearms than people.

Data Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Clock, Council on Foreign Relations, Small Arms SurveyInfographics Credit: Semmi W.

The firearms data is an estimate, showing a combined total of of civilian (393M), military (4.5M), and law enforcement (1M) weapons. Figures are calculations based on the peer-reviewed Small Arms Survey. U.S. population data is sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau and excludes territories such as Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Data Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Clock, Council on Foreign Relations, Small Arms SurveyInfographics Credit: Semmi W.

While critics argue that the Second Amendment is about personal liberty, the sheer scale of weaponry in private hands is unmatched globally, even when factoring in nations facing conflict, political unrest or instability.

Brazil and Iraq have complex gun cultures, but their totals are dwarfed by America's. India, despite having a population over 1.4 billion, has relatively low gun ownership: both legally and illicitly. In Iraq, the weapon count is largely due to decades of war and occupation, yet it's still a fraction of America’s civilian weapons arsenal.

In the wake of the Manhattan shooting, New York Governor Kathy Hochul issued a blunt, urgent message:

“We banned assault weapons. We strengthened our red flag law. We closed dangerous loopholes… Congress must have the courage to stand up to the gun lobby and finally enact a national ban on assault weapons before more innocent people are killed.

Until there is a federal standard for gun access, state-by-state bans will act more like sandbags in a flood, providing limited protection while the storm continues.”

As these visual comparisons show, the U.S. stands alone not just in its tragedy count, but in the sheer number of weapons available to civilians. The problem isn’t just cultural. It’s quantitative. No other country has this level of access, or this level of political paralysis. You can review more countries directly in the SAS Report.

Until lawmakers confront the math, it’s only the public, not the lobbyists who remain trapped in the loop: shock, grief, blame, repeat.

What do you think? Drop your comments below!

Thanks for reading. :) More visuals and stats to come on GFW. Subscribe below for more data.— Semmi W.

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