The Charleston Post & Courier called it a “regrettable coincidence.” The Washington Post called it an illustration of America’s dual stance on guns—cursing their deadly potential while celebrating them as a means of self-defense and sport.
Following the shocking murder of nine people at a historic black church in Charleston, S.C., on Wednesday night—which law enforcement officials are calling a hate crime—the Post & Courier splashed the news across its Thursday edition: “Church attack kills 9,” the headline read.
On some editions of the paper, though, an advertisement for a gun range was also slapped on the front page.
Jonathan Neufeld, a philosophy professor at the College of Charleston, pointed out the ad on Twitter (TWTR) on Thursday.
Accentuating the irrationality of the Charleston news, the paper puts an ad for a gun shop on the front page today. Pic.twitter.com/GyAW4EcKF1
— Jonathan A Neufeld (@jneuf.bsky.social) (@jneuf) June 18, 2015
The advertisement is hawking a “Ladies’ Night” at the ATP Gun Shop and Range in Summerville, S.C. For $30, attendees receive eye and ear protection, a pistol or revolver, and 50 rounds of ammunition to use at the shooting range.
The paper told media reporter Jim Romenesko that the front page sticky ad was not intentional.
“We apologize to all those who were offended,” the paper said.