Tactical Gear Store Polls Followers, Asking if New Zealand Massacre Was 'Tragic' or 'F****ng Great'

A Missouri store that specializes in tactical fighting gear and edgy language asked its social media followers, in the aftermath of Friday's massacre at the New Zealand mosques, a controversial question.

On Saturday, the store called Tactical S--t posted a poll on Facebook, "How do you feel about the NZ shooting? This poll is because in our posts and news stories, our sh--heads seem pretty divided. We in no way are indicating our opinion, just want yours."

By the time the Riverfront Times snapped a screenshot of the post, there had been more than 2,400 votes, with 87 percent of votes for "it is a horrible tragedy." The Facebook post had been removed by Monday.

In a video posted by the store owner on YouTube over the weekend, Tactical S--t owner T.J. Kirgin talks about first seeing the New Zealand massacre news on his phone. He then stops, and says, "We don't like Muslim extremists at all. We're not fans of Islam in any shape or form. Still, killing of innocent civilians is probably not cool."

The deadly massacre took 50 lives while another 50 were injured.

Kirgin talked about a post his store made on Facebook about the shooting, "And bam, we lost 200 fans," he said. When they made another post, this time a meme, he said they lost another 200 fans.

The loss of a few hundred fans from their Facebook page is hardly a dent for a store that has nearly 900,000 followers. Kirgin didn't see it that way, though.

"That's how polarized this thing is already," Kirgin said. "So then I'm like, 'F--k it, f--ktards, I gotta find out what you're thinking here,' because it's obviously a polarized thing within our fan base, which are hardcore motherf---ers. So I put out a poll."

Though an overwhelming amount of those followers who voted in the poll called it a tragedy, Kirgin said he was stunned at how many actually said the massacre was a great thing.

"That's hardcore, man, but that speaks to the nature of what's happening in America, the nature of what's happening in the gun community, and globally with this event," Kirgin said.

The store in Saint Peters, Missouri, a St. Louis suburb, does not sell guns or ammunition, according to their website. The store sells gun parts, holsters, medical supplies, tactical fighting gear like helmets and vests and other items.

The store has long bashed what they call "libtards," and it sells a gun oil called "Liberal Tears." Though the owners of the store clarified in the hour-long video they didn't approve of the shooting, they never disputed the accused shooter's manifesto, according to Riverfront Times.

The store owner went on to say a high birth rate of Muslims could eventually threaten to "dominate most of America and pretty much all of Europe."

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