Walmart quickly walks back decision to remove guns and ammo from store shelves
Walmart says it will return guns and ammunition to shelves a day after announcing the products would be pulled from display at stores, reports say.
The retail giant said Thursday it was removing guns from store floors and selling them upon request due to concerns about “isolated civil unrest.” Walmart reversed the decision Friday, Business Insider and other media outlet reported.
“After civil unrest earlier this week resulted in damage to several of our stores, consistent with actions we took over the summer, we asked stores to move firearms and ammunition from the sales floor to a secure location in the back of the store in an abundance of caution,” Walmart told Business Insider. “As the current incidents have remained geographically isolated, we have made the decision to begin returning these products to the sales floor today.”
Fox Business, which confirmed the decision, reports Walmart sells guns at about half of its 4,700 U.S. stores.
Walmart did not immediately respond to a McClatchy News request for comment Friday afternoon.
In Philadelphia, demonstrators have protested the police killing of Walter Wallace, a Black man, who officials say was holding a knife, The Associated Press reported. Wallace’s family says he struggled with mental health issues, according to AP.
Firearms purchases appear to be soaring in the U.S. as background checks to purchase guns have surpassed 28.8 million in 2020, already more than last year, according to an FBI database.
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