A US newspaper has been forced to apologise for sticking an advert for a gun shop alongside its report of last night's horrific church shooting.
Copies of the Charleston Post and Courier - the biggest paper in the city Charleston where the massacre took place - were delivered this morning with a sticker advertising a gun shop and shooting range attached to the front page.
It appeared beside the paper's main article about the bloodbath at a historic black church in the South Carolina city on Wednesday.
Nine worshippers were shot dead by a white gunman at the Emanuel AME Church at about 9pm local time.
Many took to Twitter and Facebook to criticise the paper over the unfortunate ad placement.
Facebook user Shawn Payment wrote: “What advertising genius at the Post and Courier thought it was a good idea to stick a gun shop advertisement over the church attack headline this morning?”
Jonathan Neufeld said on Twitter: “Accentuating the irrationality of the Charleston news, the paper puts an ad for a gun shop on the front page today.”
The advert, which appeared beside the headline “Church attack kills nine”, was promoting a ladies night at the ATP Gun Shop and Range taking place on Thursday.
Guns, ammo and souvenir T-shirts were all on offer for a $30 (£19) entrance fee, it said.
In a statement on Facebook, the newspaper wrote: “The front-page sticky note that was attached to some home delivery newspapers on the same day as this tragedy is a deeply regrettable coincidence.
“We apologise to those who were offended.”
A spokesman for ATP Gun Shop and Range told Mail Online that the ads were planned weeks in advance and, though it was “terrible timing”, the shop “had no control over it”.
Dylann Roof, 21, was today arrested over the killings.
