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NRA Facebook page goes offline after school shooting

The National Rifle Association has stayed silent on Twitter, and apparently taken down its Facebook page, after Friday's tragic mass shooting at a Connecticut elementary school.

 

Chase Hoffberger

Tech

Posted on Dec 17, 2012   Updated on Jun 2, 2021, 5:23 am CDT

Nearly everyone on the Internet took the time this weekend to voice their opinions on the Friday mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., but one source has been notably silent. That source is the American lobbying group known as the National Rifle Association, which has not tweeted since news of the shooting became public on Friday and removed its Facebook page from public viewing Friday evening.

The organization’s Facebook URL, www.facebook.com/NationalRifleAssociation, now redirects back to the Facebook homepage. The NRA did not respond to the Daily Dot’s inquiry as to whether or not it took the page off the site itself.

On Sunday, TechCrunch reported that Facebook would not comment on the takedown, a stark difference from the standard statement Facebook gives when it has taken down a page.

The NRA’s Twitter and Facebook accounts were bombarded with antagonistic messages after news broke of Friday’s shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary. The influential pro-gun lobby retreated, staying silent amidst all the messaging, and have yet to post anything publicly since Thursday.

In July, the NRA sent out an automated tweet reading “Good morning, shooters. Happy Friday! Weekend plans?” shortly after James Holmes took a gun into an Aurora, Colo., movie theater, killing 12 and injuring 58.

Photo via National Rifle Association/Wikipedia

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*First Published: Dec 17, 2012, 1:58 pm CST