|
Zimmerman could
not be reached to verify the reports by KTNV in Las Vegas and
WOFL in Orlando.
His offer to sell the Kel-Tec PF9 9mm handgun on
UnitedGunGroup.com drew praise from gun rights supporters and
scorn from critics who accused him of seeking to profit from the
17-year-old's death.
Online bidding for the gun ended on Wednesday.
Zimmerman was acquitted of second-degree murder and manslaughter
charges in the shooting, which sparked heated debates over race
relations, gun control and justice in the United States.
In a statement on Twitter after the bidding closed on Wednesday,
United Gun Group defended its decision to host the auction and
said it would have no further comments.
On his own website that day, Zimmerman said the auction had
"raised funds for several worthy causes." He has said he would
use proceeds to counter violence against law enforcement
officers by the group Black Lives Matter and to fight Democratic
presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton's "anti-firearm rhetoric."
As of Friday afternoon, he had not posted an update on his
website about the sale.
United Gun Group owner Todd Underwood said on his site that
tools had been put in place to keep bogus buyers from driving up
the price as they had last week, when bids during an initial
auction topped $65 million under names such as "Racist
McShootFace."
Auction site GunBroker.com rejected the listing last week, and
two of America's leading auctioneers of guns said they had
refused on ethical grounds to handle the sale.
(Reporting by Karen Brooks in Fort Worth, Texas)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
