In response to looting, Walmart announced that it would only offer its controversial range of weapons on request. Observers also assume a connection with the US presidential election. But after a short time the group changes course again.
US retail giant Walmart has lifted its guns sales restrictions after just one day. The company said that weapons and ammunition have been on sale as usual since Friday.
Walmart announced on Thursday, with a view to the unrest in Philadelphia, that it would remove its range of weapons in the United States from sales and temporarily only sell the items to customers on request. Observers suspected that Walmart had also decided to take the step because of the upcoming presidential election.
After only one day, however, the company announced that it would be putting the range of weapons back on the shelves. "Because the current incidents have remained geographically isolated, we made the decision to begin returning these products to the sales floor today," it said.
In the US city of Philadelphia, there had been two consecutive nights of serious rioting and looting. The unrest was triggered by fatal police shots at the African American Walter Wallace. Walmart says it sells weapons and ammunition in around half of its branches – and is therefore regularly criticized.
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