Dick's Sporting Goods has decided to halt the sale of certain semi-automatic rifles from its stores nationwide and pull all guns from shelves in the stores nearest Newtown, Conn., in the wake of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
The move by Dick's Sporting Goods, one of the largest sporting goods retailers in the country, to suspend the sale of semi-automatic rifles and other guns was made out of respect for the victims and their families in this "time of national mourning," CNN reported.
The retailer announced the decision in a statement to the media Tuesday morning.
We are extremely saddened by the unspeakable tragedy that occurred last week in Newtown, CT, and our hearts go out to the victims and their families, and to the entire community.
Out of respect for the victims and their families, during this time of national mourning we have removed all guns from sale and from display in our store nearest to Newtown and suspended the sale of modern sporting rifles in all of our stores chainwide.
We continue to extend our deepest sympathies to those affected by this terrible tragedy.
The move comes as authorities attempt to determine whether gunman Adam Lanza, who is responsible for killing 26 people on Dec. 14, including 20 children between the ages of 6 and 7, attempted to purchase a gun from Dick's in Danbury, just 12 miles from Newtown, according to KTLA. Lanza also killed himself and his mother.
“At this time, reports that the suspect visited one of our stores last week have not been confirmed by law enforcement,” the sporting goods store said in a statement to KTLA. “Based on our records, we can confirm that no firearms were sold to the suspect identified in this case.”
It is unclear how long the gun-sale suspension will last, reported ABC 2 News.
Dick's Sporting Goods, which has more than 500 locations, isn't the only retailer to make changes to its gun offerings in the wake of the shooting. Walmart pulled a Bushmaster rifle that's in the same group of guns as the one reportedly used by Lanza from its web store, according to the Nation.
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