Buffalo-Area Barbershop removes AR-15 raffle from event after mass shootings

A brewery and barbershop near Buffalo, New York, will not raffle off an AR-15 at a “Back the Brew” event following two mass shootings, including one that killed 10 people in the city.

First Line Brewing owner Shane Stewart told Buffalo news station WIVB that the raffle, announced in March with Armstrong’s Barbershop, would no longer take place at Saturday’s event. The barbershop shares its name and address with a gun dealer, Armstrong’s Armory, whose logo appears in an Instagram post promoting the event (see below).

The brewery wrote in a Facebook post that the event was meant to celebrate first responders and that it ended the gun raffle “a few days ago.”

“This is certainly neither the time nor the place to hold any raffle like this. We apologize to anyone we may have offended,” the brewery wrote.

The event was to take place at the brewery, and a $25 ticket guaranteed entry into the drawing for the “beautiful” weapon as well as a pint of beer, according to the barbershop’s Instagram post.

Proceeds from the raffle would be donated to local police departments, a poster for the event said.

HuffPost has reached out to First Line Brewing and Armstrong’s Barbershop for comment.

Instagram users responded to the post Friday by criticizing the event organizers.

“Have you lost your mind?? West Seneca is not interested in such a donation. Send it to a charity supporting the victims of the Buffalo shooting,” one user responded.

The canceled raffle came after an assault rifle was used earlier this month in the mass shooting in Buffalo, and another was used this week in Uvalde, Texas, in a mass shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers.

This article was originally published on HuffPost and has been updated.

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