Ford Dealer Ends July 4th Gun Promotion After Killings At Morgan Hill Dealership
MORGAN HILL (CBS / AP) — A Ford dealership in Alabama has ended a Fourth of July promotion that gifted a Bible, American flag and gift certificate for a 12-gauge shotgun to anyone who bought a new or used vehicle following last week's deadly shooting at a Bay Area dealership.
News outlets report Ford Motor Co. told Ford Chatom that the promotion was inappropriate after a worker fired from The Ford Store in Morgan Hill killed two employees Tuesday before killing himself.
Authorities identified Brian Light, 59, and Xavier Souto, 38 as the victims.
Dealership general manager Colin Ward says he's disappointed the automaker requested they end the promotion. He says the dealership is fulfilling any commitments it already made.
Ward says customers could have received a Torah or Quran instead of a Bible if they wanted during the "God, guns and freedom" promotion.
The dealership also posted a video featuring Koby Palmer, a general sales manager, talking about the promotion.
"I just want to reach out to everybody in the area and let y'all know we'll be celebrating July 4th a little bit differently this year," Palmer said in the video, which had went viral before it was taken down.
Ford Motor Co. spokesman T.R. Reid says the company wasn't involved in developing the local promotion.
© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.