A day after 20 people were killed and 26 injured inside a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas, a spokesperson of the retail giant said that Walmart has no plans to stop selling guns and ammunition.
"Our focus has always been on being a responsible seller of firearms," company spokesman Randy Hargrove said, cited Bloomberg. "We go beyond federal law requiring all customers to pass a background check before purchasing any firearm," he said.
Within 13 hours of the El Paso shooting, around nine people were killed and 27 injured when a shooter opened fire at a Dayton bar in Ohio.
The Sunday shooting took place four days after a disgruntled Walmart employee opened fire, killing two co-workers and wounding a police officer in Mississippi. Other instances of gun violence, including the shooting in a Californian food festival, has raised questions regarding the state of gun control laws in the United States.
On Sunday, Walmart CEO Doug McMillon posted a note on Instagram saying that "he can't believe" that the second shooting took place in less than a week. He called people to join him in praying for the victims. Walmart also tweeted that the company is "in shock" and is "praying for the victims, the community and our associates, as well as the first responders."
However, the retail giant received public condemnation for continuing to sell firearms despite increasing public debates demanding ban of the sale on weapons in the country.
But despite traditionally selling firearms for "hunting" purposes, the company has made several changes in its sale policies of ammunition across America over the years. After last year's Parkland shooting in Florida, Walmart changed its gun sales policies by raising its minimum gun purchasing age to 21.
The company spokesperson also mentioned that Walmart has paid attention to public discourse on gun violence and has initiated a ban on the sale of "modern sporting rifles" which he described as "military-style semi-automatic rifles". The weapons were removed from the website and any air gun or toy that might resemble assault weapons were taken off the shelves, he added.
