Top executives of gun manufacturers defended their products in front of a House committee Wednesday, with the chairwoman accusing them of making money off the blood of Americans.

The House Oversight and Reform Committee questioned firearms manufacturers and multiple experts about the companies' role in an "epidemic" of gun violence.

Gun makers registered more than- $1 billion in sales of assault-style weapons to civilians over the past 10 years as gun deaths and mass shootings soared, the hearing revealed.

Daniel Defense, which made the rifle used in the Uvalde, Texas, elementary school shooting in May, raked in more than $120 million in sales of AR-15-style rifles in 2021, up from $40 million in 2019.

Smith & Wesson, which sells the high-powered weapons used in the Fourth of July massacre in Highland Park, Ill., made $253 million over the same period, compared to $108 million the year before.

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