Walmart to Put Guns, Ammo Displays Back in U.S. Stores--2nd Update
October 30 2020 - 3:31PM
Dow Jones News
By Sarah Nassauer
Walmart Inc. said it would put firearms and ammunition back on
the sales floors of its U.S. stores, reversing a decision earlier
in the week to remove the displays to prevent potential
looting.
"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," the company said Friday.
"As the current incidents have remained geographically isolated,
we have made the decision to begin returning these products to the
sales floor today," Walmart said.
The retail giant, which sells firearms in about half of its
4,700 U.S. stores, previously said it was removing the items to
prevent any potential theft of firearms amid social unrest. It said
customers could purchase guns and ammunition upon request even when
they were not on display.
There have been days of violent protests and looting this week
in Philadelphia after police fatally shot a Black man holding a
knife in the city Monday.
In a letter to store managers Wednesday, Walmart asked staff to
pull guns from shelves "due to the current unrest in isolated areas
of the country and out of an abundance of caution."
Walmart also removed firearms and ammunition from stores this
summer in the wake of George Floyd's killing by police after
several of Walmart's stores were damaged during violence.
The country's largest retailer is still a big seller of guns and
ammunition, even though it has pared its offerings in recent years.
Last year, it stopped selling ammunition that can be used in
semiautomatic rifles and handguns after a deadly mass shooting at a
Walmart store in El Paso, Texas.
In 2018, the company raised the minimum age to purchase guns or
ammunition to 21 after a deadly shooting at a high school in
Parkland, Fla.
Walmart Chief Executive Doug McMillon said last year that stores
would continue to sell firearms and ammunition that appeal to
hunters.
Write to Sarah Nassauer at sarah.nassauer@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 30, 2020 15:16 ET (19:16 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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