Hero Auctions Purse Used Against Gunman in Fla. School Board Shooting…Maybe

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (AP) — It was the purse seen round the world, and now it's for sale on eBay.

Ginger Littleton snuck up behind a man holding fellow school board members hostage at a meeting in Florida this week and used her big brown faux crocodile handbag to whack his arm.

She wasn't able to disarm him, and he fired at other school board members before fatally shooting himself. No one else was hurt and video of the incident was broadcast worldwide.

Littleton's mother-in-law gave her the Brahmin purse, worth about $300, because it had gotten too heavy for her to use. Bidding was up to $910 by Friday afternoon.

Proceeds will go to a charity that donates bikes and toys to needy children.

It was started by Mike Jones, the district security chief who shot and wounded the gunman.

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Information from: The News Herald, https://www.newsherald.com

Update:

CNN:

On Friday, Littleton said the idea of putting her faux crocodile leather purse for sale on eBay was an easy decision after she was contacted about the idea from a local TV station on Thursday. The auction was supposed to benefit Salvage Santa, a program run by Mike Jones -- the security officer who, police said, shot Duke before Duke killed himself.

"The hero of the day was Mike Jones, who is our safety officer who took the shooter down," Littleton said. "He takes old toys and bikes and fixes them up and gives them to children who need them at Christmas."

WJHG-TV anchor Joe Moore said he came up with the idea to auction off the purse and said Littleton agreed.

"I thought, wow, what closure for everyone," Littleton said. "This was a way to tie everything up."

But Moore said eBay pulled the auction of the purse because legal requirements weren't met. He said the bidding reached $1,225 at one point.

It was not immediately clear what requirements were in question, though Moore said Jones' solo venture might not meet eBay's charity guidelines. A call to eBay was not immediately returned.