Walmart to stop selling AR-15s and similar weapons
NEW YORK -- Walmart says it will stop selling the AR-15 and other semi-automatic weapons at its stores because fewer people are buying them.
The retailer says it will replace them with more hunting rifles and shot guns. Walmart spokesman Kory Lundberg says the semi-automatic weapons were sold at fewer than a third of its 4,600 U.S. stores.
Walmart Stores Inc. is removing the semi-automatic weapons this week as it prepares its stores for fall merchandise. The Bentonville, Arkansas, company says it made the decision earlier this year.
The chain has faced pressure to take firearms including the AR-15 off its shelves, reports Forbes, including from a New York Episcopal church that had taken issue with the chain's sale of weapons with high-capacity magazines of the kind that have been used in mass killings.
Walmart says its merchandising decisions are driven by customer demand.