Charleston newspaper places gun ad over church shooting headline

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Saturday, June 20, 2015
A photo of the June 18 issue of Charleston's Post and Courier newspaper featured an ad for a gun shop.
creativeContent-Justin Brotman/Bipartisan Report

A Charleston newspaper is apologizing after an ad for a gun shop ran on its front page article about the Emanuel AME Church shooting that left nine people dead Wednesday night.

"$30 gets you everything," read the sticker ad for A.T.P Gun Shop & Range on the front page of Charleston's The Post and Courier June 18 issue, with the offer including a "pistol or revolver" and "50 rounds of ammo."

Just below the ad, the headline read "Church attack kills 9."

The Bipartisan Report posted a photo of the newspaper and juxtaposed ad to Twitter, with many following comments and retweets condemning both the newspaper and the gun shop for the poorly timed placement.

"The front-page sticky note that was attached to some home delivery newspapers on the same day as this tragedy is a deeply regrettable coincidence," wrote The Post and Courier in a Facebook comment. "We apologize to those who were offended."

The gun shop also expressed its regret over the incident, and claims to have since pulled the ad from The Post and Courier, and all other newspapers.

"There's no way we would have run this ad," Arlyn Pendergast, the owner of the gun shop, told People. "As a matter of fact, we stopped everything as soon as we found out."