It takes 24 hours for Cameron County Sheriff Deputies to qualify for “AR 15” weapons training.

“First they go through a classroom training where they get familiarized with the weapon from one end to the other,” said Cameron County Sheriff Omar Lucio. “They'll take it apart and put it back together."
           
The newly acquired "AR" 15's is not your typical gun; it is a semi-automatic rifle that the sheriff said has an accuracy range of 3 football fields.

The gun can shoot up to 90 rounds; it’s great for confronting a serious adversary.

“We’re right here by the border and the cartels they have some of these types of weapons we want to have just as good or at least the equivalent of what they're using."

Because of the border violence weapons like the “AR 15”, which are usually used by tactical teams, are now being handled by patrol agents.

Sheriff Omar Lucio said his deputies will each be armed with one of the rifles inside their units and ready to fire in case danger strikes.

Each riffle was about 8-hundred dollars but Sherriff Lucio told Action 4, it didn’t cost the tax payers a thing since the weapons were purchased with money confiscated from drug busts.