IL Sheriff Promotes Gun Raffle Day After TX School Shooting, Draws Ire

MONROE COUNTY, IL — A downstate county sheriff is taking heat on social media after he promoted a gun raffle for his re-election campaign the day after a school shooting in Texas.

“We currently have a gun raffle going on to support my re-election as Monroe County Sheriff,” said the post on Sheriff Neal Rohfling’s Facebook page. “The raffle consists of two guns which are a Smith & Wesson 556 caliber AR pistol and a Glock 43 9 mm pistol.”

The raffle drawing is scheduled for July 28.

SEE ALSO: Lake County Democrats Chair Slams Gun Raffle After Texas Mass Shooting

Many Facebook users took issue with the timing of the sheriff's post, which was published the morning after 19 students and two teachers were killed in a shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

The comments on the post were overwhelmingly negative.

“Never was a fan of this every year, but the timing really couldn't be more poorly done,” one Facebook user wrote.

Many were incredulous.

“I can’t believe that you’re raising money for your political campaign with a gun raffle the day after 19 children lost their lives due to gun violence,” another user wrote.

Monroe County sits just across the Missouri state border from St. Louis. Rohfling has been sheriff since 2014 and is running unopposed, according to the Riverfront Times, which attempted to contact Rohfling for comment but did not receive a response.