Pistol Used in Trayvon Martin Shooting Disappears From Auction Site

The auction listing on GunBroker.com listed the gun as a 9 mm Kel-Tec PF-9 pistol

Former neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman said he wants to sell the pistol that was used in the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin.

In an interview with Orlando, Florida, TV station WOFL, Zimmerman said he had just gotten the pistol back from the U.S. Justice Department, which took it after he was acquitted in Martin's 2012 shooting death. 

"And I thought it's time to move past the firearm," Zimmerman told WOFL. "And if I sell it and it sells, I move past it. Otherwise, it's going in a safe for my grandkids and never to be used or seen again." 

An auction listing on GunBroker.com, purportedly written by Zimmerman, listed the gun as a 9 mm Kel-Tec PF-9 pistol. The auction was scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. ET Thursday and end at the same time Friday. The bidding started at $5,000. [[238427591, C]]

But, around 11 a.m. ET the auction page said the "item you have requested is no longer in the system," NBC News reported. It was not immediately clear why.

Zimmerman's brother, Robert, had confirmed to NBC News the gun sale was "legit."

The auction listing also said a portion of the proceeds would go toward fighting what Zimmerman calls violence by the Black Lives Matter movement against law enforcement officers, combatting anti-gun rhetoric of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and ending the career of Angela Corey, the attorney who led the prosecution against Zimmerman. 

The listing ended with a Latin phrase that translates as "if you want peace, prepare for war." 

When asked what he thought of people who would be opposed to auctioning the gun, Zimmerman said: "They're not going to be bidding on it, so I couldn't care less about them." 

Zimmerman has said he was defending himself when he shot and killed Martin, an unarmed black 17-year-old. The shooting sparked protests and a national debate about race relations. 

"The Trayvon Martin Foundation is committed to its mission of ending senseless gun violence in the United States," Martin's father, Tracy Martin, said in a statement to NBC News. "We are laser focused on furthering that mission. As such, the foundation has no comment on the actions of that person that murdered Trayvon." 

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton extended her support for the Martin family and Trayvon's mother, Sybrina Fulton, in a tweet Thursday, writing: "Sybrina, you and all mothers of gun violence victims have taught us hate will never win. Thinking of you today." [[379217771, C]]

Zimmerman said he has received death threats but has decided not to cower. 

"I'm a free American," he said. "I can do what I want with my possessions."

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us