The owner of the Demolition Ranch YouTube channel said it "sucked" to see the gunman who shot former president Donald Trump was wearing a T-shirt associated with the channel.
Matt Carriker, the owner of the channel for gun enthusiasts, distanced the brand from the gunman, identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks, in a nearly six-minute-long video posted on the channel on Monday. It has since racked up more than three million views.
"We were shocked and confused to find this out: the shooter who tried to assassinate Trump was wearing merch from my channel, wearing a Demolition Ranch T-shirt," Carriker said in the video.
"That sucked to see to that. That was rough."
Authorities said Crooks opened fire from a rooftop as Trump spoke at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. The Republican presidential nominee was rushed off stage by Secret Service agents after a bullet hit his right ear. One person was killed and two others were seriously injured before Crooks was shot dead by the Secret Service.
In his video, Carriker said the T-shirts are printed in his hometown in Texas and shipped all over the world.
Demolition Ranch's online store sells T-shirts, starting from $29.95, as well as hoodies, hats, stickers and accessories.
"We don't vet the people who buy our shirts, obviously. It'd be impossible to," he said. "I would love to keep people like that from buying, wearing, being associated with that article of clothing. I wish he couldn't get a shirt but it happened... to see my name next to the shooter's name, uh, it sucks. And I wish, I wish we could keep that from happening."
The Demolition Ranch channel, which has 11 million subscribers, regularly posts videos about guns and explosive devices.
But Carriker said the channel does not promote violence or hate.
"No matter what side you're on politically, none of us want violence," he sad. "This channel was never meant to incite violence or hate, it never has, it isn't and it never will be a channel that does that."
Carriker added that he has been contacted by media outlets asking if he has ever met or communicated with Crooks.
"No," he said. "He bought a shirt online and unfortunately wore it that day."
Newsweek has contacted Carriker for further comment via social media.
Update 7/16/24, 8:50 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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Khaleda Rahman is Newsweek's National Correspondent based in London, UK. Her focus is reporting on abortion rights, race, education, sexual ... Read more
