A shotgun rack manufacturer in Minnesota is using the killings of family members of U.S. singer-actress Jennifer Hudson's family in Chicago for a promotion.

ADVERTISEMENT

Home Back-Up Protection President A. John Peters defended his company's news release this week that specifically linked the three killings in the actress' family to shotgun sales, The Chicago Tribune reported Wednesday.

"I really feel sorry for these people," Peters said. "I just don't want this to happen to someone else. Sometimes I think people need to be hit between the eyes."

RELATED LINKS American Idol 3 Contestant Info American Idol 3 Photo Gallery American Idol Message Boards RealityTVWorld: American Idol RealityTVWorld: American Idol 1 RealityTVWorld: American Idol 2 RealityTVWorld: American Idol 3 RealityTVWorld: American Idol 4 RealityTVWorld: American Idol 5 RealityTVWorld: World Idol SirLinksALot: American Idol More People News

Hudson, who won an Academy Award for the film "Dreamgirls," lost her mother, Darnell Donerson, and her brother, Jason, during a shooting at her mother's South Side home last Friday. Authorities Monday located the body of her 7-year-old nephew, Julian King, in an SUV parked on the city's West Side.

"Could a Bedside Shotgun Rack Have Saved Jennifer Hudson's Family from Tragic Death?" the news release from Peters' company asks.

Peters told the Tribune he expected his promotion would cause controversy.

"Just having a gun rack offends a lot of people," he said of the likely fallout from his release.