Walmart announced it will be returning guns and ammunition to sales floors one day after the company said it would remove all firearm displays from its 4,700 U.S. stores to prevent theft amid social unrest.
What they're saying: A Walmart spokesperson told Axios the retailer reversed the decision because the most recent looting incidents "have remained geographically isolated."
- "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."
- "As the current incidents have remained geographically isolated, we have made the decision to begin returning these products to the sales floor today," a spokesperson said.
- On Thursday, a Walmart spokesperson told Axios its initial move to pull guns and ammunition displays served "as as a precaution for the safety of our associates and customers.
The big picture: The retailer removed firearms and ammo from some of its stores this summer amid nationwide protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd.
- Since the start of this year's anti-racism demonstrations, businesses — including Target stores in Minneapolis — have seen damage and looting.
Worth noting: The company remains a major gun retailer despite changes to its policies throughout the years.
- In 2019, Walmart discontinued handgun ammunition and sales of short-barrel rifle ammunition that can be used with military-style assault weapons following a shooting at a store in El Paso, Texas, that left 23 people dead.
- In 2018, Walmart raised the minimum age to buy firearms in its stores from 18 to 21 after the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.
