Church shooting: Paper slapped gun ad on front page

The paper ran a sticker ad for ATP Gun Shop and Range on its front page. Photo / Twitter

A US newspaper has apologised for running a front-page sticker ad for a gun shop over a headline describing the mass shooting at a black church.

Police have arrested a white man, Dylann Roof, 21, after nine people were killed and three wounded at a historic African-American church in Charleston.

Accentuating the irrationality of the Charleston news, the paper puts an ad for a gun shop on the front page today. pic.twitter.com/GyAW4EcKF1

— Jonathan A Neufeld (@jneuf) June 18, 2015

Above The Charleston Post and Courier's front page headline on the shooting, "Church attack kills 9", was pink advert for ATP Gun Shop and Range highlighting a "Ladies' Night" event that promotes women shooting guns.

The paper apologised on its Facebook for the ad: "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 GunShop and Range said that the advertisements were planned weeks in advance and though it was "terrible timing", the gun store "had no control over it".

Several readers of the Post and Courier posted pictures of their newspapers this morning asking why the company would include such an advertisement. Many people called it "tasteless", demanding that the paper make a formal apology for its "mistake".