Gun George Zimmerman Used to Kill Trayvon Martin Up for Auction Again

The first auction site removed the gun within an hour.

ByABC News
May 12, 2016, 6:46 PM

— -- The gun that George Zimmerman used to kill unarmed black teen Trayvon Martin is up for auction again after one company delisted the weapon from its site.

United Gun Group decided to post the gun after being contacted by Zimmerman. The company said in a statement that "as long as Mr. Zimmerman (or any other UGG member) is obeying the letter of the law, his personal firearm sale will be permitted on our network."

The original listing on GunBroker.com was removed within one hour of live bidding. Zimmerman, who was acquitted of second-degree murder, shot Martin on Feb. 26, 2012.

PHOTO: Sanford police officer Timothy Smith holds up the gun that was used to kill Trayvon Martin, while testifying on the 15th day of the George Zimmerman murder trial in Seminole circuit court June 28, 2013 in Sanford, Florida.
Sanford police officer Timothy Smith holds up the gun that was used to kill Trayvon Martin, while testifying on the 15th day of the George Zimmerman murder trial in Seminole circuit court June 28, 2013 in Sanford, Florida.

"The firearm for sale is the firearm that was used to defend my life and end the brutal attack from Trayvon Martin," Zimmerman wrote on GunBroker.com before the post was removed. "Many have expressed interest in owning and displaying the firearm including The Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. This is a piece of American History.”

The Smithsonian Museum quickly rebutted this claim in a tweet, saying it "never expressed interest in collecting George Zimmerman's firearm."

The sale has also attracted the attention of Hillary Clinton, who tweeted a message of support to Martin's mother.

In an interview with FOX station WOGX-TV in Ocala, Florida, Zimmerman confirmed that he put the firearm used in the killing of Martin on the auction block.

"I'm a free American, I can do what I like with my possessions," he said, adding, "it's time to move past the firearm, and if I sell it and it sells, and I move past it."

The GunBroker.com auction went live at 11 a.m. ET today with bids starting at $5,000. Nearly 50,000 people visited the page before the listing was taken down.

It has been more than four years since the fatal confrontation took place in a gated community in Sanford, Florida. Martin, 17, was returning to a relative's house after leaving a convenience store when he was shot by Zimmerman.

Prosecutors accused Zimmerman of profiling Martin as a criminal, possibly because of his race, and following him with a loaded gun. Zimmerman maintained that he shot Martin in self-defense after he was knocked to the ground and Martin was banging his head against the pavement. Zimmerman has a Hispanic mother and a white father. Martin was black.

A Florida jury found Zimmerman not guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter in July 2013.

The trial sparked rallies across the country and created a national debate over law enforcement deaths of black men and boys.