George Zimmerman sells gun he used in Trayvon Martin killing, but won’t say to whom

George Zimmerman says he’s vetting bids after closing an auction for the pistol he used to kill unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin during an altercation.

The former neighborhood watch volunteer, who was acquitted in the 2012 slaying, says on his blog that the sale was successful, though he gives no details and says the buyer may choose to remain anonymous.

Other details of the auction also are unclear. The website believed to be the venue, United Gun Group, later said on Twitter that there were two auctions running simultaneously, one for prequalifed buyers and a “fake” one for the public. Bids on the fake site visible to the public went as high as $138,900 before it was deleted about midday Wednesday.

Zimmerman had set the minimum bid at $100,000. He had told Orlando, Fla., TV station WOFL that the pistol was returned to him by the U.S. Justice Department, which took it after he was acquitted in 2013 in Martin’s shooting death.

Critics had called the auction an insensitive move to profit from the slaying.

Zimmerman, who identifies as Hispanic and is now 32, has said he was defending himself when he killed Martin, 17, in a gated community in Sanford, Fla. Martin, who lived in Miami with his mother, was visiting his father at the time.

Zimmerman’s acquittal sparked protests and a national debate about race relations. The Justice Department later decided not to prosecute Zimmerman on civil rights charges.

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