A social media post shared by the National Rifle Association encouraging people to purchase guns for their loved ones for Valentine’s Day had disappeared from Twitter by Wednesday evening, as authorities dealt with the grim aftermath of the Florida school shooting that left 17 people dead.
The tweet was initially posted by the gun manufacturer Kimber Firearms, and it showed matching guns lying side by side on a heart-shaped box, with the caption: “Give your significant other something they’ll appreciate this Valentines Day.” That same day, tragedy unfolded at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., when 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, allegedly opened fire with an AR-15 style rifle.
It’s exactly unclear when the NRA retweeted the Kimber Firearms post. Business Insider reports that the tweet was no longer up by about 7 p.m. E.T. — after an official at the liberal think tank Center for American Progress Action noticed.
Earlier this morning, @NRA re-tweeted a tweet from a gun maker encouraging people to buy their loved ones guns for #ValentinesDay
Since the #schoolshooting in Florida they've deleted that tweet and have gone silent.
Thankfully, I took a screenshot. pic.twitter.com/cC4A835n0a
— igorvolsky (@igorvolsky) February 14, 2018
The NRA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Newsweek reports that Kimber Firearms deleted the tweet.