The hashtag #goldengun was trending on Twitter Thursday after a photo emerged of a young Libyan man brandishing a handgun that appeared to be made from solid gold, and which he had reportedly taken from Moammar Gadhafi.
The young man, wearing a New York Yankees baseball cap and a blue T-shirt, was photographed just moments after Gadhafi was caught and possibly killed in Sirte, the former dictator's hometown.
The man was apparently with a group that found Gadhafi hiding in what appeared to be a hole, or a culvert.
He told the BBC that the former Libyan leader said to him simply: "Don't shoot"
According to reports, the firearm in question was a gold-plated Browning 9 millimetre handgun.
Gadhafi, known for his eccentricities, has reportedly owned several vanity weapons over the years. Rebels who raided his Tripoli compound in August reportedly found a gold-plated AK-47.
However, it was the 9 mm that Gadhafi carried with him at all times, according to reports.
