A small Vermont newspaper has been forced to apologize for publishing a tasteless cartoon depicting the Las Vegas massacre.

The Bennington Banner published the editorial cartoon on Tuesday - just two days after the worst mass shooting in US history - which showed a pile of dead bodies with the caption 'Whatever happens in Vegas...'

It sparked outrage among readers who branded the image 'disgusting' while some even demanded that cartoonist Randall Enos and executive editor Kevin Moran should resign. Others called for a boycott of the local Vermont paper.

A Vermont newspaper has been forced to apologize for publishing this tasteless cartoon (above) depicting the Las Vegas massacre

The Bennington Banner published the editorial cartoon on Tuesday - just two days after the worst mass shooting in US history - which showed a pile of dead bodies with the caption 'Whatever happens in Vegas...'

Moran tried to rationalize the 'offensive' cartoon, saying it was meant as commentary on gun control, and the likelihood that the government will take little to no action to introduce weapon regulations.

But he acknowledged that publishing it in Tuesday's edition 'was not the right time or the right place' for that conversation, adding 'we must first mourn and honor the victims'.

'We regret publishing the cartoon,' he added in the public apology.

Dozens were killed and more than 500 were injured in the Las Vegas massacre on Sunday. Pictured; A man lays on top of a woman as others flee the music festival grounds. She appears to be alive and moving

Three people lie on the ground, one covered in blood, after the shooting at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival on Sunday

The news outlet's president, Fredric Rutberg said the 'decision to publish was made in haste' and had been 'insensitive.'

The fury over the cartoon was stoked by the fact that one of the 58 victims killed in the shooting was a local.

Sandy Casey, 35, of nearby Dorset, Vermont, was gunned down and killed when Stephen Craig Paddock, 64, opened fire from his 32nd floor hotel window on a crowd of thousands below who were attending a music festival.

Dozens were killed and more than 500 were injured in the Sunday night bloodbath.

Bennington Banner executive editor Kevin Moran tried to rationalize the 'offensive' cartoon, saying it was meant as commentary on gun control, but acknowledged that publishing it in Tuesday's edition 'was not the right time or the right place'

The news outlet's president, Fredric Rutberg said the 'decision to publish was made in haste' and had been 'insensitive'

Local pizzeria owner Joel Millington said that the fact a local woman was among the victims made the cartoon even more insensitive.

The newspaper paid tribute to Casey in a statement, saying: 'Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Sandy Casey, originally from East Dorset, Vermont, who are enduring grief beyond compare today. We apologize to them and others affected.'

Rutberg also acknowledged that the 'gravity of our error in judgment was magnified by the fact that one of the victims of this unspeakable horror was a native of Dorset, whose family and friends must have been particularly offended by this cartoon.'

The publisher and editor of the Telegraph Herald, which posted the syndicated editorial cartoon on their website, have also issued an apology, saying they are 'embarrassed by our error in judgment and how we have handled this situation.'

'Editorial cartoons are social commentary, and we never saw it as an attempt at humor. No one in our organization saw the events in Las Vegas as anything but utter tragedy. We are deeply sorry that it came across as anything less,' the statement by publisher Steve Fisher and executive editor Amy Gilligan read.

The cartoon sparked outrage among readers who branded the image 'disgusting' while some even demanded that cartoonist Randall Enos and executive editor Kevin Moran should resign



