A police union in Bergen County has withdrawn plans to raise money by raffling off two firearms including an AR-15 rifle, which has been the weapon used by multiple mass shooters.

“We understand the gravity of these weapons and the means to which they’ve been used,” Capt. Mustafa Rabboh, a spokesman for PBA Local 309, said in a statement. “We sincerely apologize to anyone we may have offended as a result of this raffle.”

The union holds raffles to raise money for several organizations. Raffle tickets cost $10 each and prizes consisted of a 55-inch television, a KEL-Tec KSG pump-action shotgun and the M&P Sport 11, which is an AR-15.

The TV was to be handed to the winner of the raffle, while the winner of the guns was to receive a voucher to take to a store, Rabboh said.

“The winner of the weapons was obligated to clear a thorough background check in order to receive them,” the statement said. “The weapons are in the possession of the gun store and at no time were they going to be turned over to the winner by any member of the PBA.”

Last year, after a gunman killed 17 students at a Parkland, Florida high school, the LA Times reported that AR-15 rifles had been used in seven of 10 recent mass murders across the nation.

In January, a Salem County man was arrested after police said he opened fire with an AR-15, shooting up three homes and a parked car. Several AR-15s were found at the scene of the 2017 Las Vegas mass murder in which 58 people at an outdoor concert were killed.

On Friday, a reporter from NorthJersey.com asked the president of the Bergenfield police union why they were raffling firearms. Detective Dave Totora said of the AR-15 is a popular gun, though it was the first time the union had offered guns raffle prizes.

The raffle drew criticism from the New Jersey chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. Several hours after the NorthJersey.com story appeared online, the union released its statement pulling the prizes.

“After consultation with police administration, we believe it to be in the best interest of the public, Bergenfield Police Department and members of PBA Local 309, to withdraw the raffles for the weapons,” Rabboh said.

“All money collected for the raffles will be refunded,” he added. “Although the money raised was to benefit scholarships and programs for our youth, the safety and respect we share with our community far outweighs the means to raise these funds.”

Anthony G. Attrino may be reached at tattrino@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @TonyAttrino. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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