Riverhead gun shop owner to raffle off semiautomatic rifle for school volleyball team

A Riverhead gun shop owner says he is raffling off a semiautomatic weapon to raise money for his daughter's high school volleyball team — over the objections of school officials who refuse to accept the offer.

“The raffle is still on," Joe Oliver, owner of JJ Armory, said Tuesday in a phone interview, a day after Riverhead school district officials told him they wanted no part of the raffle.

Oliver said he would give raffle proceeds to the team, even if he has to throw a party for the players.

“We believe in giving back to the community, and the fact that my daughter is on the volleyball team made it more personal for me," Oliver said Tuesday. “Last night it blew up [on social media] and everybody got upset about it.”

Riverhead school officials said they would decline any money raised by the raffle. In a statement, officials said they learned of the raffle Monday night from social media posts.

"Please know that the district was not previously informed of this raffle and was not involved, in any manner, with its creation," school district officials said.

"Under no circumstances would the district ever sanction any event to raise funds for a district sports team or program that involves the offering of firearms or any weapon as a prize," the statement continued. "In addition, the district logo was used without the district's permission, which is against district policy. The district has reached out to the business owner to strongly convey our position on this matter and to ensure our teams are not used for such marketing purposes by the company in the future. No funds that may be raised in this unsanctioned raffle will be accepted by the district."

The raffle comes amid a wave of school shootings in recent years prompting at least 20 Long Island school districts to consider hiring armed guards.

Nationwide, there were 336 school shootings last year, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database, which recorded 156 shootings at schools so far this year. Two children were killed in a shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic school last month.

Oliver said he removed all references to the Riverhead school district, including the district's logo, from his website and social media Monday night. He said he did so at the request of Riverhead school officials.

The store owner said he is raffling a Ruger Pistol-Caliber Carbine, a 9-mm semiautomatic rifle that lists for $779 and up on the Ruger website.

The store is charging $20 per ticket to enter the raffle. Oliver said the winning ticket will be drawn by his daughter, Kayla, 14, who plays for the Riverhead varsity volleyball team, during a social media livestream on Sept. 20. The winner must have a permit to use a semiautomatic weapon, Oliver said.

He said he had raised $450 as of late Tuesday morning.

“There’s no doubt in my mind we’re definitely giving them money from this,” Oliver said. “People think that guns are bad. There’s another view that guns aren’t bad, but bad people [with guns] do bad things.”

And if the school district refuses the donation, Oliver said, he would instead “throw a really big pizza party” or “buy the players gifts."

He said he had held similar raffles to raise money for veterans and local ambulance companies.

“Wherever the money came from, I don’t think it really matters,” Oliver said. “We’re just giving back.”

By Carl MacGowan

carl.macgowan@newsday.comCarlMacGowan

Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.