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MIAMI (AP) -- Bidding in an online auction for the pistol former neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman used to kill Trayvon Martin appeared to have been hijacked by fake accounts posting astronomically high bids.
At one point early Friday, the bidding surpassed $65 million with the leading bidder using the screen name "Racist McShootFace." The site later showed that account had been deleted.
Other screen names of bidders on the site included "Donald Trump," ''shaniqua bonifa" and "Tamir Rice," the name of a black 12-year-old who was shot and killed by Cleveland police in 2014 while playing with a pellet gun.
The website for United Gun Group began hosting the auction Thursday after another website, GunBroker.com, took down the auction saying it wanted "no part in the listing on our website or in any of the publicity it is receiving."
Hours later, United Gun Group tweeted that it would post Zimmerman's ad. The new link was posted, along with a statement from Zimmerman. The site calls itself a "social market place for the firearms community."
Bidding on the 9 mm Kel-Tec PF-9 pistol began at $5,000.
Critics called the auction an insensitive move to profit from the slaying.
Zimmerman had told Orlando, Florida, TV station WOFL that the pistol was returned to him by the U.S. Justice Department, which took it after he was acquitted in Martin's 2012 shooting death.
Zimmerman's listing 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 state attorney Angela Corey, who led Zimmerman's prosecution.
The listing ended with a Latin phrase that translates as "if you want peace, prepare for war."
Zimmerman, now 32, has said he was defending himself when he killed Martin, an unarmed black 17-year-old, in a gated community near Orlando. Martin, who lived in Miami with his mother, was visiting his father at the time.
Zimmerman, who identifies as Hispanic, was acquitted in Martin's February 2012 shooting death. The case sparked protests and a national debate about race relations. The Justice Department later decided not to prosecute Zimmerman on civil rights charges.
Lucy McBath, the mother of another black teenager shot by a white man during an argument at a Jacksonville convenience store in 2012, said the auction reflected a "deplorable lack of value for human life."
"I am deeply disappointed that the man who killed Trayvon Martin is trying to sell the very gun he used to cut that precious life short to raise money," McBath said in a written statement.
The slaying of her son, 17-year-old Jordan Davis, by Michael Dunn drew parallels at the time to the Zimmerman-Martin case. Dunn told police he had felt threatened by Davis. Unlike Zimmerman, Dunn was convicted of murder.
Since Zimmerman was acquitted, he has been charged with assault based on complaints from two girlfriends. Both women later refused to press charges and Zimmerman wasn't prosecuted. His estranged wife, Shellie Zimmerman, also accused him of smashing her iPad during an argument days after she filed divorce papers. No charges were filed because of lack of evidence. They were divorced in January.
Orlando-based attorney Mark O'Mara has previously represented Zimmerman. A receptionist in O'Mara's office said Thursday that he no longer represents Zimmerman and had no comment.
Martin's parents declined to address Zimmerman's actions in statements made through representatives.
Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton, said through an attorney that she would rather focus on her work with the Trayvon Martin Foundation than respond to "Zimmerman's actions."
Daryl Parks, whose firm represented the Martin family during the trial, is now chairman of Fulton's foundation. He says Fulton is pushing for policies that protect youth and address gun violence.
Fulton also founded the Circle of Mothers conference, a three-day event to help mothers who have "lost children or family members" to gun violence. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will be keynote speaker at the event in Fort Lauderdale starting May 20.
Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY — Tornadoes destroyed homes, overturned vehicles and stripped the bark from trees as they churned across Oklahoma, part of a strong series of storms that hit the Plains.
At least two people died Monday in weather so violent that forecasters declared a "tornado emergency" for communities in the path of one of the twisters. The Storm Prediction Center said 23 tornadoes were reported across five states.
"You are in a life-threatening situation," forecasters declared while warning the communities of Roff, population 725, and Hickory, population 71, which were ultimately spared major damage. "Flying debris will be deadly to those caught without shelter."
Dana Lance was driving through the community of Roff, about 85 miles southeast of Oklahoma City, on her way home from work Monday when the skies grew ominous, sirens wailed and forecasters on the radio told people to take cover. "I parked and went into the school, which has a safe room," Lance said. "There were kids and elderly people, dogs and cats, babies. It was like the whole town was there."
In nearby Murray County, where Hickory is located, emergency management director Gary Ligon said one person was injured.
Garvin County officials said a man believed to be in his upper 70s died when another tornado hit a home near Wynnewood, south of Oklahoma City. That storm, caught on video by several storm chasers, appeared white against the dark clouds of a supercell storm. In Johnston County, the sheriff's office said a man was killed by a tornado near Connerville.
Associated Press
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Kansas City, Kansas, police detective helping respond to a report of a suspicious person near a racetrack was fatally shot Monday, and a parolee sought for questioning in that and an ensuing string of reported carjackings was wounded after a shootout with police in neighboring Missouri.
The detective was shot at least twice about 12:30 p.m. near the Kansas Speedway, underwent surgery at a hospital and later died, his department said in a statement. His name was not immediately released, though a police spokesman, Patrick McCallop, called him "a seasoned officer."
"Our detective fought a good fight, but unfortunately he died from his injuries ...," Kansas City, Kan., Police Chief Terry Zeigler said in a tweet. "Thanks for the support & prayers."
Police said the gunman, after wounding the detective, fled in the officer's unmarked car, then hijacked a vehicle with two children inside before abandoning it in nearby Basehor, Kansas, leaving those kids unharmed.
Police publicly appealed for help in trying to find Curtis Ayers, 28, for questioning in the shooting. That Tonganoxie, Kansas, man ultimately was taken into custody in Kansas City, Missouri, when he crashed the car he was driving while being pursued by officers, then was shot by police after trying to carjack a woman's vehicle.