The hotly contested auction saw around seven prospective buyers chip in offers for the the Kel-Tec PF-9 9mm handgun on the United Gun Group website
The handgun George Zimmerman used to kill an unarmed black teenager has reportedly fetched an eye-popping $120,000 (£82,191) following an online bidding war.
The hotly contested auction saw around seven prospective buyers chip in offers for the Kel-Tec PF-9 9mm handgun on the United Gun Group website.
Earlier reports suggested Zimmerman, who shot and killed Martin at his Florida home in February 2012, had scooped a whopping $138,900 (£95,136) for the firearm after bidding closed at midday today.
But after fake bidders, including one named Racist McShootface, sabotaged the auction by jacking up the price artificially, his attempts to cash in that sum were thwarted.
Alabama-based John Smith, however, was named as the eventual winner after placing his bid in the final moments, according to The Guardian .
However, reports from TMZ , who broke the the story, suggest the identity of the winning bidder is not yet known due to the auction site's rules.
The auction was branded a "national shame" by Leonard Pitts, a Pulitzer-winning columnist for the Miami Herald.
Zimmerman was at the centre of a major firearm debate in America after he was acquitted of all charges over the death of 17-year-old Trayvon at a 2013 trial.
Some of the proceeds from the sale of the gun, described as "an American Firearm icon", will be donated to Black Lives Matter, an American civil rights movement, according to Zimmerman.
