Walmart in a company memo issued on Tuesday said that it will be discontinuing the sale of handgun ammunition as well as some types of rifle ammunition.
ABC News reports,
CEO Doug McMillon announced in a company memo Tuesday that Walmart will discontinue sales of some types of rifle ammunition, which are commonly used in some hunting rifles but can be used with military-style weapons.
In addition, the store will ‘sell through’ and discontinue handgun ammunition as well as sales of handguns in Alaska, ‘marking our complete exit from handguns.’
The actions will reduce the chain's total U.S. market share of ammunition from 20%, to between 6% and 9%, McMillon wrote.
According to the Associated Press, Walmart is also requesting “that customers refrain from openly carrying firearms at its stores unless they are law enforcement officers.”
Walmart CEO McMillon in the memo on Tuesday said that there will be a “remaining assortment” of firearms that focus on the needs of its hunting and sport shooting customers.
“We have a long heritage as a company of serving responsible hunters and sportsmen and women, and we’re going to continue doing so,” he said.
McMillon also made sure to call on lawmakers to take action by strengthening background checks “to remove weapons from those who have been determined to pose an imminent danger."
“In a complex situation lacking a simple solution, we are trying to take constructive steps to reduce the risk that events like these will happen again,” McMillon wrote in his memo. “The status quo is unacceptable.”
The announcement comes after a mass shooting in Odessa, Texas over the weekend that killed seven people as well as the shootings in El Paso and Dayton, Ohio last month.
The El Paso shooting took place at a Walmart and claimed the lives of 22 people. The gunman reportedly used an AK-style firearm already banned by Walmart.
The suspect in the Odessa shooting was reported to have failed a background check and did not obtain the gun used in the shooting legally.