A couple wounded in the Aug. 3 mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, has sued the retailer, claiming the store lacked proper sec...
A couple wounded in the Aug. 3 mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, has sued the retailer, claiming the store lacked proper security, in what their lawyers called the first lawsuit over the attack.
Guillermo and Jessica Garcia believe Walmart’s failure to employ armed security guards at the store, despite using them in other stores, was a factor in the massacre, where 22 people were killed, their lawyers said on Wednesday.
The Garcias said they were shopping with their two children when the gunman, identified by authorities as Patrick Crusius, opened fire.
Guillermo Garcia remains hospitalized in critical condition after being shot in the spine, while Jessica Garcia was hospitalized and later released after being shot in the legs, their lawyers said.
“Jessica Garcia and Guillermo Garcia’s injuries would not have occurred but for the negligence, gross negligence, and premises liability” of Walmart, the complaint said.
The Garcias are seeking a restraining order requiring Walmart, which has begun renovating the store, to preserve evidence from the shooting.
They also want to question the world’s largest retailer about its security practices following a June 2016 hostage taking by an armed employee at a Walmart in Amarillo, Texas.
The lawsuit does not say whether the Garcias are seeking monetary damages.
Walmart spokesman Randy Hargrove said “safety was a top priority” for the Bentonville, Arkansas-based retailer, which will respond to the complaint filed on Aug. 30 in the El Paso County District Court.
“This tragic event will be with us forever and our hearts go out to the families that were impacted,” Hargrove said in a statement. “We preserved what information we have, and we’ve worked meticulously with federal and local authorities as they documented everything that took place on August 3.”
Most of those killed in the shooting were Hispanic.
Crusius, who is white, told police while surrendering that he had been targeting Mexicans, according to an El Paso police affidavit released on Aug. 9.
On Tuesday, Walmart said it would stop selling ammunition that could be used in assault-style rifles, and would discourage shoppers from openly carrying guns in its stores. It also called for stronger background checks for gun buyers.
The National Rifle Association, which supports gun rights, accused Walmart of succumbing to pressure from “anti-gun elites.”
Some are wondering if this news, which Walmart could have known about in advance, was the reason the company decided to stop selling ammunition.
Walmart has just announced it will no longer sell ammunition for semi-automatic rifles and handguns and will also ban customers from open-carrying it it’s stores, the Daily Mail is reporting.
Walmart will also stop selling handguns in the only state left where it sells them, Alaska.
The company’s CEO Doug McMillon made the announcement to employees via a memo today.
Via the Daily Mail:
‘After selling through our current inventory commitments, we will discontinue sales of short-barrel rifle ammunition such as the .223 caliber and 5.56 caliber that, while commonly used in some hunting rifles, can also be used in large capacity clips on military-style weapons,’ he wrote.
‘We know these decisions will inconvenience some of our customers, and we hope they will understand.
‘As a company, we experienced two horrific events in one week, and we will never be the same,’ he said.
Walmart is the country’s biggest seller of ammunition, accounting for 20 percent of it.
By rolling back its stock, it will likely account for six percent of all ammunition sales in the country.
McMillon said he was aware the company had to do more to ‘make the country safer’.
Sorry to burst Walmart CEO McMillon’s bubble but this will have no impact on making the country safer.
If Walmart stops selling ammo for semi-automatic rifles and pistols people will just buy it somewhere else.
Walmart cannot repeal the law of supply and demand. Another retailer will step up and fill this need.
All this will do is hurt Walmart’s stockholders as a lucrative source of cash and customers goes elsewhere.
This is little more than posturing for the Walton kids liberal friends.
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