A gun shop in the US is offering a semi-automatic weapon as the top prize in a raffle to raise funds for the victims of the nightclub shooting in Orlando.
Second Amendment Sports in McHenry, Illinois, is selling tickets for 5 US dollars (£3.70) to win an AR-15 rifle similar to the one gunman Omar Mateen used when he opened fire in the Pulse nightclub on June 12 and killed 49 people in the worst mass shooting in modern US history.
Shop owner Bert Irslinger Jr said he "wanted to do something for the loss of lives and injuries".
Owners insisted the raffle is not a political statement, but it was immediately condemned for what some described as an offensive move.
Vic Santi, the shop's marketing director, said: "I understand that there are different opinions out there. We don't look at this as a gun issue. We look at this as a terrorism issue."
The shop will announce the winner of the AR-15 rifle on July 31 when it opens a new gun range and larger showroom.
The family of a victim of another mass shooting condemned the raffle.
Kathleen Larimer's son John, of Crystal Lake, Illinois, was one of 12 people killed in the 2012 shooting in a Colorado cinema.
She called the raffle an inappropriate publicity ploy, and added: "Guns are not toys. They should be taken seriously. I'm not saying they should be illegal, but raffling off a gun is not taking its killing power seriously."
Colleen Daley, executive director of the Illinois Council Against Handgun Violence in Chicago, said the raffle is offensive.
"I'm glad people are trying to raise money," she said. "I just don't think it's the most appropriate way to do that.
"These guns are weapons of war, meant to kill large numbers of people in a short time, which is what happened in Orlando. I find it very distasteful and offensive."
The gun shop said proceeds of the raffle plus its own donation of 2,000 US dollars (£1,490) will go to the OneOrlando Fund.
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