In 2012, Trayvon Martin, a 17-year-old African American high school student, was fatally shot. Today, his story is very well-known. His murderer George Zimmerman, now 32, was released on a $9,000 bond in 2013 (ABC News).

Recently, Zimmerman auctioned off the pistol used to kill Martin shortly after the weapon was returned to him by the Justice Department. He plans to use the money to “fight violence against law enforcement officers by members of Black Lives Matter; to ensure ‘the demise’ of the career of Angela Corey, the prosecutor who put him on trial; and to counter Hillary Clinton’s ‘anti-firearm rhetoric’ ” (ABC News).

The pistol is a Kel-Tec PF-9, originally priced at $350 and described by Zimmerman as “a piece of American history.”

Zimmerman’s gun auction was initially held on gunbroker.com, before the site removed the item. BBC News reported that the 9mm pistol was eventually sold on UnitedGunGroup.com, where a woman who “wanted the gun as a birthday present for her son” paid $250,000 for it.

Several celebrities, sports figures and politicians criticized the auction, calling Zimmerman a “coldblooded killer who should be in prison” and the auction was described as “sick,” “disgusting” and “beyond tasteless” (NY Times).

Carina Wang, Staff Writer

Sophomore Carina Wang is a staff writer for the 2015-2016 Colonel. She is on the FIRST Robotics team.