Walmart is removing guns and ammo from shelves and display cases in all stores as a precaution amid 'civil unrest'
- Walmart removed guns and ammo from all store displays.
- Customers can still buy firearms on request.
- A statement from Walmart cited "civil unrest" as the reason.
Walmart will remove guns and ammo from all sales floors and displays, Sarah Nassauer at The Wall Street Journal first reported, in a year of record gun sales.
"We have seen some isolated civil unrest and as we have done on several occasions over the last few years, we have moved our firearms and ammunition off the sales floor as a precaution for the safety of our associates and customers," a Walmart spokesman told Business Insider.
Weapons will still be available for purchase upon request in stores where they are sold, according to the report. The retailer sells firearms in about half of its 4,700 US stores. Walmart did not say when it would put the guns and ammo back on the shelves and in display cases.
In June, Walmart removed firearms from the floors of certain stores amid protests over George Floyd's killing. More recently, protests and looting have occurred in Philadelphia after police shot and killed a Black man. Amid the protests, a Walmart was looted in the city Tuesday night.
It is unclear how long the guns will remain out of sight in Walmart stores. Walmart remains a major gun seller, though it has reduced numbers in recent years. In 2018, it stopped selling guns to customers under 21.