Haven't seen this posted on here, saw this in the morning.
LAKE MARY, Fla. — George Zimmerman was set to auction the gun he used to kill Trayvon Martin four years ago, he told a Florida TV station.
But mysteriously, when the auction was slated to begin, the weapon vanished from the website, replaced by a note that read, “Sorry, but the item you have requested is no longer in the system.”
Searches for Zimmerman and Trayvon, which earlier Thursday morning had yielded information about the gun and its sale, returned no results.
CNN attempts to reach the auction site were not immediately successful.
Reached via phone, Zimmerman told CNN, “Thanks for the call. I’m not speaking to media right now,” and hung up.
A jury acquitted Zimmerman in the death of Martin, an unarmed African-American teen, after he claimed self-defense.
Since his acquittal in 2013, Zimmerman has made news several times, including an arrest in a domestic violence case.
Prosecutors dropped the charges after his girlfriend refused to cooperate with the investigation.
Zimmerman made headlines again Wednesday, this time for an ad posted on a firearm-auctioning website, GunBroker.
The post listed the weapon purportedly used to kill Martin at a starting bid of $5,000.
“I am honored and humbled to announce the sale of an American firearm icon,” the post said. “The firearm for sale is the firearm that was used to defend my life and end the brutal attack from Trayvon Martin on 2/26/2012.”
The post bragged about the gun’s popularity, describing it as a “piece of American history.”
But while the auction site said many museums, including the Smithsonian Institution, have “expressed interest in owning and displaying the firearm,” the Washington-based Smithsonian released a statement saying, “We have never expressed interest in collecting George Zimmerman’s firearm, and have no plans to ever collect or display it in any museums.”
In an interview with WOFL-TV in Orlando, Zimmerman said he decided to sell the weapon and move past it.
“I recently received it back from the Department of Justice,” he said. “They took it after my trial, after I was exonerated.”
Zimmerman told the station he has had death threats since he put the gun up for sale.
“What I’ve decided to do is not cower,” he said. “I’m a free American. I can do what I want with my possessions.”
LAKE MARY, Fla. — George Zimmerman was set to auction the gun he used to kill Trayvon Martin four years ago, he told a Florida TV station.
But mysteriously, when the auction was slated to begin, the weapon vanished from the website, replaced by a note that read, “Sorry, but the item you have requested is no longer in the system.”
Searches for Zimmerman and Trayvon, which earlier Thursday morning had yielded information about the gun and its sale, returned no results.
CNN attempts to reach the auction site were not immediately successful.
Reached via phone, Zimmerman told CNN, “Thanks for the call. I’m not speaking to media right now,” and hung up.
A jury acquitted Zimmerman in the death of Martin, an unarmed African-American teen, after he claimed self-defense.
Since his acquittal in 2013, Zimmerman has made news several times, including an arrest in a domestic violence case.
Prosecutors dropped the charges after his girlfriend refused to cooperate with the investigation.
Zimmerman made headlines again Wednesday, this time for an ad posted on a firearm-auctioning website, GunBroker.
The post listed the weapon purportedly used to kill Martin at a starting bid of $5,000.
“I am honored and humbled to announce the sale of an American firearm icon,” the post said. “The firearm for sale is the firearm that was used to defend my life and end the brutal attack from Trayvon Martin on 2/26/2012.”
The post bragged about the gun’s popularity, describing it as a “piece of American history.”
But while the auction site said many museums, including the Smithsonian Institution, have “expressed interest in owning and displaying the firearm,” the Washington-based Smithsonian released a statement saying, “We have never expressed interest in collecting George Zimmerman’s firearm, and have no plans to ever collect or display it in any museums.”
In an interview with WOFL-TV in Orlando, Zimmerman said he decided to sell the weapon and move past it.
“I recently received it back from the Department of Justice,” he said. “They took it after my trial, after I was exonerated.”
Zimmerman told the station he has had death threats since he put the gun up for sale.
“What I’ve decided to do is not cower,” he said. “I’m a free American. I can do what I want with my possessions.”
