Newspaper Apologizes For Tasteless, Offensive Vegas Shooting Cartoon

Many emotions follow a tragedy like what happened in Las Vegas - sadness, anger, grief - but there is no place for humor in the wake of such a horrific event. 

However, a local paper in Vermont thought they would include a cartoon about the shooting in a recent issue. The Bennington Banner printed an illustration by cartoonist Randall Enos. It shows a large pile of bodies with the caption, "Whatever happens in Vegas... ends."

Following public outrage, the paper posted an apology on Facebook, where they said they regret publishing the piece, but also explained they interpreted the cartoon as a statement that little will be done with gun control following the shooting. 

They added, "While we believe that this is a conversation that needs to happen in this country, we must first mourn and honor the victims and provide comfort to their family and friends." 

Making matters worse is that one of the victims is from the paper's coverage area. The paper's President, Fredric Rutberg, also released a statement apologizing for the cartoon:

"On Tuesday, the Banner published a cartoon that many people, including me, found to be insulting and in bad taste. We regret and apologize for publishing the cartoon.The decision to publish was made in haste. We are addressing the matter internally.The gravity of our error in judgment was magnified by the fact that one of victims of the unspeakable horror was a native of Dorset, whose family and friends must have been particularly offended by this cartoon.

As the president of the company, the responsibility for the grievous error is mine, and I apologize to the entire Bennington community that the Banner was so insensitive."

As for the cartoonist, the paper is directing all inquiries about him to Cagle Cartoons, which distributes his work.

Photo Credit: Getty