Walmart has returned ammunition and firearms to its sales floors at U.S. stores, reversing a decision from earlier this week, according to Bloomberg.
“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,” a Walmart spokesman said in an email to Bloomberg on Friday. “As the current incidents have remained geographically isolated, we have made the decision to begin returning these products to the sales floor today.”
The nation’s largest retailer, based in Bentonville, Arkansas, temporarily removed these items this summer during protests after the death of George Floyd while he was in Minneapolis police custody. Walmart sells firearms in about half of its 4,700 stores.
Last year, Walmart stopped selling handgun and short-barrel rifle ammunition while requesting that customers not openly carry firearms in its stores, even where state laws allow it. The company also ended the sale of handguns in Alaska, the only state where the discounter sold them.
Rich Barak of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution contributed to this report.
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