Ford asks Alabama dealership to end shotgun promotion after deadly shooting in California
Ford Motor Co. has requested that a dealership in Alabama end a promotion that gives buyers an American flag, a Bible, and a 12-gauge shotgun, after a fatal shooting in a California dealership.
According to The Detroit Free Press, leaders in Ford's regional office reached out to Chatom Ford in Alabama and asked management to end the deal, to respect the victims of Tuesday's mass shooting at a San Francisco Bay Area Ford dealership. The gunman, a former employee at Morgan Hill Ford Store, shot and killed two employees and then shot himself to death.
"So it's done. They've ended our promotion. I'm very disappointed," Colin Ward, general manager of Chatom Ford, told the outlet. "Ford said we can fulfill our commitments to the customers that we've made up till now, but we have to cease it going forward."
The promotion, which gave customers a $200 gift certificate to purchase a shotgun at any gun store, was meant to run until July 31.
The viral campaign resulted in hundreds of phone calls from people hoping to take advantage of the promotion from around the nation.
"All our phone lines are jammed up and it's an overwhelming response," Ward told the Free Press on Tuesday, three days after sharing the promotional video "God, guns, and freedom,” which was deleted.
"We only have three salespeople. They're overwhelmed right now," he said.
Ford spokesman T.R. Reid told the Free Press, "This is a local promotion. It is not something Ford developed and the dealers are independent businesses. But if a dealership is (altering the promotion) in light of the tragedy, that seems appropriate."
Chatom Ford removed the video advertisement for the promotion and replaced it with a new video, this time offering a "God and Glory" deal. Customers will still receive a flag and a Bible, and now a $200 gift certificate for "whatever you want."
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