NEW DELHI (XINHUA) - A United States-based gun manufacturer has unveiled a semi-automatic rifle for children modelled on the AR-15 style, the New Delhi-based television news channel NDTV has recently reported.

"The gun dubbed the JR-15 is being marketed by maker WEE1 Tactical as the first in a line of shooting platforms that will safely help adults introduce children to the shooting sports," said the report.

It added that the company's website says the rifle "also looks, feels, and operates just like Mum and Dad's gun".

According to the report, the AR-15 style rifle, a lightweight semi-automatic rifle based on the Colt AR-15 design, has been used in a number of deadly mass shootings in the US.

The unveiling of the rifle for children has sparked condemnation from gun safety groups.

According to Gun Violence Archive, a US gun violence monitoring group, nearly 45,000 people in the US were killed in gun violence last year, including more than 1,500 minors.