A Texas YouTuber who runs a popular gun enthusiast channel is distancing himself from the gunman who opened fire on former President Donald Trump at a rally in western Pennsylvania on Saturday.
Photos verified by NBC News show the shooter, identified by law enforcement as Thomas Matthew Crooks, wearing a Demolition Ranch T-shirt on the day of the shooting. The images began circulating after Crooks, 20, of Bethel Park, was killed by at least one Secret Service sniper.
In a nearly six-minute video released Monday, Matt Carriker, who runs the YouTube channel Demolition Ranch, said: “We were shocked and confused to hear this. The shooter who attempted to assassinate Trump was wearing merchandise from my channel, a Demolition Ranch t-shirt. And it sucked to see that.”
“Yes, it was hard,” he added.
Carriker said he avoids politics in his videos and does not support violence on his channel.
“This channel was never intended to incite violence or hatred,” he said. “It never has, it doesn’t and it never will. I don’t want violence or hatred around me.”
The YouTuber, who has more than 11 million subscribers, said it was impossible to verify everyone who bought one of his T-shirts, explaining that they were made in his hometown and shipped worldwide. The T-shirts sell for about $30.
“I wish I could do that. I wish I could stop people like that from buying, from wearing, from being associated with that piece of clothing. I wish he couldn’t have a shirt, but it happened,” he said, adding: “Seeing my name next to the shooter’s name, oh, that sucks. And I wish I could stop that from happening.”
News Source : www.nbcnews.com
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