If you got the "tripod"description from the media, remember that they are blatheringly ignorant of gun facts.
(For many experienced shooters, a bipod serves far more frequently as a "kickstand" or prop than as a shooting aid... (Not everyone enjoys lying prone in the dirt, with the muzzle brake blast blowing sand into their eyes...)
Yes, the report I read was of a tripod. Stand and shoot, swivel tripods for AR’s are available, and would make more sense in this particular application.