A used car dealership in New Hampshire is offering free AR-15 rifles with the purchase of a vehicle.

“Need a car? Want a free AR-15 also?” reads a Facebook post from Hagan’s Motor Pool, based in Rochester. “Get both at Hagan’s.”

The promotion, highlighted by Fox 25 News on Thursday, dates back to May, well before a deadly mass shooting at an Orlando gay nightclub sparked renewed debate over whether assault weapons should face tougher restrictions.

The shooter in Orlando used a pistol and a Sig Sauer MCX, which law enforcement described as an “AR-15-type assault rifle,” to kill 49 people and injure 53 more in the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.


Dealership owner Mike Hagan told Fox 25 that he’s given away four AR-15s and one 9mm handgun already. He said he partnered with a local gun store, which conducts background checks before customers can pick up their complementary firearm.

“If they don’t pass, they don’t get a firearm,” he said. “It’s that simple.”

Comments on Hagan’s Motor Pool’s Facebook page show both approving and disapproving voices, debating the need for civilians to own high-powered weapons.

“You honestly trust any citizen to be responsible with one purely based on their ability to purchase a car?” one Facebook user asks. “What kind of NH resident NEEDS one [of] these for protection?”

Hagan was asked by Fox 25 whether he was worried the weapons could be used in a deadly crime.

“I could worry about that same thing with a car being used to hurt other people,” he said. “In the end, that kind of heinous crime is in the heart.”