Ensuring Christmas went with a bang: Americans posing happily by the tree with guns they were given as gifts

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Santa Claus came to town - and he was packing heat - as numerous Americans were seen on social networks posing in front of their Christmas trees with the same assault rifle used by the gunmen in three recent bloody killings.

Grinning from ear-to-ear, those who received AR-15 assault rifles took to sites like Twitter and Instagram, posting photos of themselves with their brand new toys.
One Twitter user posted: 'I got just what I wanted. An Armalite semi-automatic AR-15 rifle. It's like the Christmas Story, but I'll shoot more than my eye out.'

Packing heat: Numerous Americans were seen on social networks posing in front of their Christmas trees with the same assault rifle used by the gunmen in three recent bloody killings

The post was in reference to the cult classic holiday film, which follows the life of a young boy who wants nothing but a BB gun for Christmas.
'Furs & guns, yes, it was a redneck Christmas,' said one jubilant Instagram user.
'Don't break into this house.' said another.
The social networking trend, was first reported by TheVerge.com with pictures following in The Atlantic Wire, amid a heated debate over gun control - especially with assault weapons.

Just what I wanted: Grinning from ear-to-ear, those who received AR-15 assault rifles took to sites like Twitter and Instagram, posting photos of themselves with their new toys

The AR-15 was the weapon of choice for Sandy Hook massacre gunman Adam Lanza, who killed 27 people - including 20 children and his own mother - in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 14.
The same weapon was used by William Spengler, who killed himself after murdering two firefighters and injuring two more as they responded to a blaze that he started in Webster, New York, on Christmas Eve.
The AR-15 was also used in James Holmes' shooting spree during a midnight premiere of The Dark Knight Rises at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado, on July 20.

Weapon of choice: High-powered assault rifles like the one pictured here were seemingly a popular holiday gift

source: dailymail