Conn. paper runs gun show ad next to Newtown story
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. The Hearst Connecticut Media Group apologized Thursday because one of its newspapers ran an ad for an antique gun show next to an article about the Newtown school shooting.
A statement released by Group Publisher Paul Farrell said the ad's placement in The Advocate of Stamford was the result of an oversight.
"Our newspapers should not be running gun ads — including ads for antique and collectible gun shows — next to stories about Sandy Hook. It's insensitive, and it shouldn't have happened," the group said in the statement referring to the Dec. 14 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School. "We have taken steps to make sure it doesn't happen again."
The ad for the East Coast Fine Arms Show appeared Thursday beside an article about students at the school. The promoter for the gun show, which is scheduled to begin Saturday in Stamford, did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
The gunman, Adam Lanza, killed 20 first-graders and six adult staff members at Sandy Hook. He also killed his mother on the morning of the rampage and committed suicide as police arrived. Police have not offered a possible motive.
Adam's father, Peter Lanza, lives in Stamford. He issued a statement the day after the shooting expressing sympathy for the victims' families and saying the family was trying to make sense of what happened.