By Kasim Ileri

WASHINGTON

Neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman is auctioning off the gun he used to fatally shoot black teen Trayvon Martin in 2012, in a case which shocked both the United States and the world, Anadolu Agency learned Thursday.

In the description of the 9-milimeter pistol on the GunBroker.com website, Zimmerman said: “I am honored and humbled to announce the sale of an American Firearm Icon. The firearm for sale is the firearm that was used to defend my life and end the brutal attack from Trayvon Martin on 2/26/2012.”

A Florida jury acquitted Zimmerman one year after he killed the unarmed 17-year-old, although he was initially charged with second-degree murder.

The jury’s 2013 acquittal led to nationwide protests and stoked renewed racial tensions in the U.S.

“This is a piece of American History,” Zimmerman said of his gun, claiming that many have shown interest in owning it for display, including the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C.

He added that the gun was recently returned to him by the U.S. Justice Department, noting that the trial case number is written on the gun in silver permanent marker.

“The firearm is fully functional as the attempts by the Department of Justice on behalf of [President] B[arack]. Hussein Obama to render the firearm inoperable were thwarted by my phenomenal Defense Attorney,” he wrote.

Zimmerman also claimed that he would use “a portion of the proceeds” from the gun sale to fight Black Lives Matter, an activist movement founded in 2013 following Zimmerman’s acquittal that campaigns against violence toward black people, as well as the special prosecutor appointed by Florida’s governor to investigate Trayvon Martin’s case, and Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton’s “anti-firearm rhetoric.” He concluded the gun sale description with the Latin phrase “Si vis pacem para bellum,” meaning, “If you want peace, prepare for war.”

Speaking to an Orlando, Florida-based TV station, Zimmerman said he had gotten several death threats after putting the gun up for auction.

The TV station said that the attorney for Martin’s family declined to comment on the auction but issued a statement.

“The Trayvon Martin Foundation is committed to its mission of ending senseless gun violence in the United States. This [presidential and congressional] election season, we are laser focused on furthering that mission. As such, the foundation has no comment on the actions of that person,” the attorney was quoted by the station as saying.

The auction also sparked outrage on social media.

“George Zimmerman. Auction the gun. Someone buys it. Hopefully shoots you with it,” wrote one Twitter user.

“I’m really really really disappointed with Americans as a whole that George Zimmerman is still alive,” wrote another.

The auction begins Thursday at 11 a.m. ET (1400GMT), and bidding starts at $5,000.