Newly uncovered footage of a 2013 safari National Rifle Association executive vice president Wayne Lapierre and his wife took to Botswana to film a self-serving promotional documentary was never shown, largely due to Lapierre’s unskilled use of the weapons he was given, the New Yorker reports.
Lapierre had his guides on the safari to track down an elephant for him to kill. Once found, Lapierre arrived on the scene and fired a shot from a rifle that incapacitated the animal but did not kill it. Moving closer to the elephant, Lapierre took three additional shots to try to finish off his target, but missed the “kill spot.” Finally, one of the guides approached the animal and put the animal out of its misery with one shot.
Lapierre’s wife, Susan, proved to be more adept at killing. After guides found another elephant for her, she arrived on the scene and took one shot to fell the animal. She then cut the tail of the elephant, proudly displaying it to the camera and declaring, “Victory!”
The trip was part of a planned documentary called “Under Wild Skies” which was supposed to depict Lapierre as an avid sport hunter and just like many of the hunters who are members of the NRA. It was scrapped after NRA staff saw the footage as a potential public relations disaster.
The newly-released footage becomes public at a time when the NRA is attempted to declare bankruptcy in a Texas court to try to avoid self-dealing and corruption charges against organizational executives filed in New York. The New York charges could result in the dissolution of the NRA and the banning of its executives from serving with non-profit organizations in the future.