Bloomberg group apologizes for calling alleged Boston bomber a 'victim'

A gun control group founded by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg apologized Wednesday for mistakenly including one of the alleged Boston marathon bombers in a list of people killed by gun violence since the massacre in Newtown, Connecticut.

That list was delivered to Sen. Kelly Ayotte's (R-NH) office amid a protest organized by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, which targeted the New Hampshire Republican for her vote against gun control regulations proposed by the White House.

The protest was repeatedly disrupted by gun enthusiasts, many of whom attended a counter-protest visibly armed. One man was also arrested after harassing a a survivor of gun violence who was speaking at the rally.

To emphasize their point, Mayors Against Illegal Guns delivered a list of more than 6,000 names to Sen. Ayotte, all of them people who've died in the U.S. due to gun violence since last December. Among them, alleged Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev somehow went unnoticed -- all the way to the point where his name was read aloud by a speaker at the rally, according to The New Hampshire Union Leader.

Sensing a clear opportunity, the New Hampshire Republican Party pounced. "It is outrageous that Mayor Bloomberg's gun control group is so radical and out of touch with New Hampshire values that it believes this monster should be labeled as some kind of victim," a spokesperson reportedly said.

Bloomberg's group quickly backtracked, saying Tsarnaey "was absolutely not a victim" and that "his name should have been deleted before the list was provided to a family member for reading and his name should never have been read." Then, they insisted: "It was a mistake, it should not have happened and we sincerely apologize."

Tsarnaev was killed in an April shootout with police.