Juguetes Ilegales — Bernat Parera

Juguetes Ilegales (Illegal Toys)

Eduardo (changed name) is from El Salvador and has grown up surrounded by war weapons. He shot his first gun when he was 5. At 9, he owned his first weapon.

30 new firearms were registered daily in El Salvador between 2010 and 2015. The majority of the crimes are committed with guns. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) estimated there were 450,000 firearms distributed among the civilian population, about half of which deemed illegal.

During the El Salvador Civil War (1979-92) the Salvadoran Army used M16 rifles provided by the US. The FMLN guerrilla used the Belgium FAL (provided by Cuba) and the Russian AK47 rifles among others. Many of those weapons are nowadays in civilian hands, unregistered.

Since the end of the 90s, El Salvador has disputed with Honduras the first place in the list of countries with the highest homicide rate in the world. In 2017, almost 4 thousand people were murdered.

Eduardo (changed name) is from El Salvador and has grown up surrounded by war weapons. He shot his first gun when he was 5. At 9, he owned his first weapon.

Eduardo had this M16 since he was a kid. He claims it is from the Salvadorian Civil War.

A friend of Eduardo (changed name) with an illegal M16 in San Salvador.

Two friends of Eduardo (changed name) hold two unregistered weapons in a shooting range near San Salvador. The M16 is categorised as a "war weapon" and its possession by the general population is strictly prohibited.

Bullets in ears to absorb the sound from the guns and avoid eardrum injuries.

Close up of the illegal M16

Ammunition for the M16

A Dominican coin shot by the M16 in a shooting range in San Salvador.

A friend of Eduardo shoots using a rifle in a shooting range near San Salvador.

Ammunition in a table. Shooting range near San Salvador, El Salvador.

A mannequin used for shooting practice in a shooting range near San Salvador, El Salvador.