BENTONVILLE, Ark. — Walmart is returning guns and ammunition to store shelves after temporarily removing them from some stores on Thursday (Oct. 29), in response to civil unrest in Philadelphia following an officer-involved shooting.
A media partner with Walmart released the following statement on Friday:
“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.”
Walmart sells firearms in roughly half of its 4,700 U.S. stores, according to CBS.
This isn't the first time in 2020 the nation's largest retailer has removed guns and ammo from its store shelves. Walmart also removed firearms and ammunition from some of its stores during the wake of George Floyd's death and the national unrest that followed.
Customers were still able to buy firearms and ammunition from Walmart even after they were removed from floor displays.