Walmart Removes Guns & Ammo Due to Fear of Looting and Riots
CLICK HERE for CBS4 Indy report on Walmart policy moving guns and ammunition out of stores.
10/31/2020 UPDATE — Walmart Reverses Decision
Walmart has decided to put guns and ammo back on shelves in most stores nationwide. Walmart concluded that incidents of looting and rioting were “geographically isolated” so it was no longer necessary to move firearms and ammunition to secure areas. Walmart spokesperson Kory Lundberg stated that “as the current incidents have remained geographically isolated, we have made the decision to begin returning these products to the sales floor today (10/30/20).”
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Thanks to rioters and looters and “mostly peaceful” BLM demonstrators, Walmart has decided to remove guns and ammo from thousands of its stores nationwide. Inventories may remain in some stores, but will be removed from the sales floor area. Why is Walmart doing this? “We have seen some isolated civil unrest and as we have done on several occasions over the last few years, we have moved our firearms and ammunition off the sales floor as a precaution for the safety of our associates and customers”, stated Walmart spokesman Kory Lundberg on October 29, 2020. Walmart has not indicated when it will return firearms and ammunition back to retail shelves in stores.
The Wall Street Journal reports: “Walmart Inc. has removed all guns and ammunition from the sales floors of its U.S. stores this week, aiming to head off any potential theft of firearms if stores are broken into amid social unrest. The retail giant, which sells firearms in about half of its 4,700 U.S. stores, said customers can still purchase guns and ammunition upon request even though they are no longer on display.”
Walmart pulled guns and ammo from store shelves, after concern over violent protests, rioting and looting. Walmart still is a major vendor of long-guns and ammunition and will continue to stock these products. However it stopped selling handguns and certain types of ammunition in September 2019.
Walmart Action Likely Inspired by BLM-Agitated Looting and Rioting in Philadelphia
According to the Washington Post, Walmart “did not specify the incidents to which it was referring. But according to local media in Philadelphia, at least one Walmart store was ransacked after rioting broke out after the police shooting of Walter Wallace Jr., a Black man whose family said he was in the midst of a mental health crisis. Walmart took similar measures in June after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis sparked widespread protests around the country.”
Allegedly Peaceful Protests Become Violent
Yahoo News reported: “The move comes in the wake of peaceful protests that gave way to skirmishes and looting in Philadelphia following the fatal police shooting of a Black man, Walter Wallace Junior. Police [reported] that ‘a large crowd of [approximately] 1000 is looting businesses’ in the Port Richmond area of the city. Earlier in the evening, news helicopter footage showed people appearing to break in and take items from a Foot Locker store and another business in that area.”
NOTE: Walmart, which claims to be the world’s largest retailer, stated that, on special request, at some stores, customers would still be able to purchase firearms and/or ammunition.
And … announced 28 hours ago, this action has been reversed.
https://www.nbcnews.com/business/consumer/walmart-reverses-decision-remove-guns-ammo-store-shelves-n1245518