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United States Gun lobby gave more than £5m in grants to schools

US gun lobbying group the National Rifle Association (NRA) has given more than £5 million in grants to hundreds of US schools in recent years, according to new research by the Associated Press.

But few schools have shown any indication they’ll cut ties with the group following last month’s massacre at a Florida high school.

Florida’s Broward County school district is believed to be the first to stop accepting NRA money after a gunman killed 17 people at one of its schools on February 14. The teenage boy charged in the shooting had been on a school rifle team that received NRA funding.

Officials for state schools in Denver said on Thursday that the district will turn down several NRA grants that were to be awarded this year.

The analysis of the NRA Foundation’s tax records revealed that about 500 schools received more than $7.3m (£5.3m) from 2010 through 2016, mostly through competitive grants meant to promote shooting sports.

The NRA has ramped up its spending on schools, increasing nearly four-fold from 2010 to 2014.

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