Following the tragic Odessa and Midland, Texas, shooting spree over the weekend, Walmart has announced that it is banning customers from carrying guns in their stores. The company also revealed that it is ending ammunition sales for assault rifles and handguns, per Yahoo. “As a company, we experienced two horrific events in one week, and we will never be the same,” Chief Executive Officer Doug McMillon said in a memo to Walmart’s employees. The company previously banned playable demos of violent video games form their stores, in an effort to address gun violence in America.
However, Walmart noted that they will still meet the needs of hunting and sport shooting enthusiasts by continuing to sell long barrel deer rifles and shotguns.
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Walmart believes that the move to stop selling assault rifle and handgun ammunition will brink its market share of ammunition down from about 20 percent to a range of somewhere between 6 percent to 9 percent.
Walmart says it will stop selling handguns and ammunition used in military-style weapons, after a mass shooting at one of its El Paso stores killed 22 people.
It also banned openly carrying guns in stores.
But it will continue selling shotguns and other hunting rifles. pic.twitter.com/QgII6ZUkm3
— AJ+ (@ajplus) September 3, 2019
While the Odessa, Midland shooting was not connected to the store, the previous El Paso shooting in August took place inside of a Walmart.
Among those killed in the terrible tragedy, were Jordan Anchondo and Andre Anchondo, the mother and step-father of 5-year-old Skylin Jamrowski.
Following the El Paso shooting, CNN spoke with Skylin’s family, who told them that the young girl was having a tough time understanding what happened to her parents, even going so far as to wondering if the shooter was going to try and hurt her as well.
“Is he going to come and shoot me?” Skylin asked her grandmother. “She’s like ‘Is it because of the bad guy, is he going to come too?’” her aunt, Leta Jamrowski, told CNN. “It’s sad because she just turned 5. For a 5-year-old to have to think that already is inhumane.”
“The shooter had aimed at Jordan. And Andre jumped in front of Jordan. And the shooter shot Andre, and the bullets went through Andre and hit Jordan,” Jordan Anchondo’s mom, Misti Jamrowski, said of the terrible tragedy.
“The sad thing is, is that even with all of us … it’s Mom and Dad. We can’t replace Mom and Dad. It’s just something you can’t replace,” Paul Jamrowski, Jordan father’s added.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
