- National Rifle Association sends ill-timed tweet after Colorado shooting
- "Good morning, shooters. Happy Friday!" wrote one of the group's accounts
- Tweet was widely criticized as insensitive given the overnight shooting that killed 12
(CNN) -- While the nation wrestled with the aftermath of a shooting in Colorado that left 12 people dead, a Twitter account for the National Rifle Association had this to say:
"Good morning, shooters. Happy Friday! Weekend plans?"
That tweet was posted at 9:20 a.m. ET on Friday by an account for "American Rifleman," the official NRA journal. The group, which advocates for gun owners, appeared to have been pulled down from the Internet as of about 12:30 p.m. ET Friday.
Shooting turns movie into surreal horror
James Holmes, 24, was identified by two federal law enforcement officers as the man who opened fire during a screening of "The Dark Knight Rises" at an Aurora, Colorado, theater early Friday. At least 12 people were killed and 38 wounded, Police Chief Dan Oates said. 
Jessica Ghawi, an aspriring sportscaster, was one of the victims. 
A woman waits for news outside Gateway High School, a few blocks from the scene of the shooting at the Century Aurora 16. 
Agents search the suspect's car outside the theater. 
Agents search the trash container outside the suspect's apartment in Aurora. 
Obama supporters observe a moment of silence for the victims at a campaign event at Harborside Event Center in Fort Myers, Florida, on Friday. 
Obama speaks on the shootings at the event in Fort Myers. 
Moviegoers are interviewed at the Century Aurora 16. 
Officers gathered at the theater Friday. 
Investigators were a common sight at the theater Friday. 
Authorities gather at the shooting suspect's apartment building in Aurora. Police broke a second-floor window to look for explosives that the suspect claimed were in the apartment. 
Screaming, panicked moviegoers scrambled to escape from the black-clad gunman, who wore a gas mask and randomly shot as he walked up the theater's steps, witnesses said. 
University of Colorado Hospital spokeswoman Jacque Montgomery said that all of the wounded had injuries from gunshot wounds, ranging from minor to critical. 
A woman sits on top of her car near the crime scene. 
An ambulance is parked outside. Of the wounded, at least 20 were being treated at the University of Colorado Hospital, said spokeswoman Jacque Montgomery. "They're arriving by police, by ambulance. Some are walking in," she said. 
Police block access to the Town Center mall after the shooting. 
Witnesses told KUSA that the gunman kicked in an emergency exit door and threw a smoke bomb into the darkened theater before opening fire. 
What is believed to be the suspect's car is examined after the shooting. 
Photos: Shooting at Colorado movie theater 
Obama: Such evil is senseless 
Romney condemns 'hateful act' 
Witness: He pointed gun at my face 
Witness: Shooter was aiming everywhere "A single individual, unaware of events in Colorado, tweeted a comment that is being completely taken out of context," NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said in a comment issued to CNN.
Theater shooting unfolds in real time on social media
He also said: "Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims, their families and the community. NRA will not have any further comment until all the facts are known."
Online, Twitter users rushed to criticize the post as insensitive, since it followed the overnight shooting at a theater in Aurora, Colorado, during a showing of the new Batman movie.
Aspiring sports reporter feared dead in shooting
"Perhaps NRA should read news before tweeting," @ambermac wrote on Twitter.
"This is a real tweet today from an official NRA account. Oblivious," wrote Max Fisher, an associate editor at The Atlantic.
Some people speculated that the advocacy group, which opposes gun-control legislation, scheduled the tweet to publish before the movie-theater shooting had occurred. The tweet was posted via Hootsuite, an app that lets Web publishers schedule tweets to go out automatically at a later date or time. "Scheduled tweets can be dangerous," wrote @B2BMarketingVP.
It turned out, however, that the tweet was posted by someone who hadn't seen news of the mass shooting.
Are you there? Share your story on CNN iReport and post tributes to the victims.
0 comments:
Post a Comment