Walmart will no longer sell Confederate flag merchandise
The nation's largest retailer made the decision in the aftermath of last week's shooting in Charleston, North Carolina. 21-year-old Dylann Roof shot and killed nine African-Americans in the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. He reportedly harbored racist sentiments and wanted to incite a "race war."
Wal-Mart spokesman Brian Nick told CNN in a statement:
"We never want to offend anyone with the products that we offer. We have taken steps to remove all items promoting the confederate flag from our assortment -- whether in our stores or on our web site ... We have a process in place to help lead us to the right decisions when it comes to the merchandise we sell. Still, at times, items make their way into our assortment improperly -- this is one of those instances."
Wal-Mart's decision was prompted by an inquiry by CNN to the retailer. CNN made similar inquiries to eBay and Amazon, which also carry Confederate flag merchandise. Neither has yet responded to requests for comment.
Earlier on Monday, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley called for the removal of the Confederate flag from the South Carolina statehouse grounds.
There is an abundance of Confederate merchandise currently available on Amazon.
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And no shortage on eBay either.
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