Walmart Refuses to Discuss Employee's Refusal to Sell Jared Loughner Ammo

By James King Thu., Jan. 13 2011 at 9:36 AM

The Wall Street Journal, among other large-scale news outlets, has reported that Jared Loughner, the suspect in Saturday's shooting rampage in Tucson, bought ammunition used in the massacre at a local Walmart hours before the shooting. That, as the story goes, was only after an employee at a different Walmart refused to sell the madman bullets.

Walmart, however, refuses to talk about any of it, despite several requests made by New Times and others.

Since Monday, we've called Walmart three times and sent the retail giant two emails requesting an explanation as to why Loughner was refused sale. Walmart didn't even have the courtesy to respond -- despite the enormous level of public interest in the story.

Initial reports claimed that Loughner tried to buy ammunition from a Tucson Walmart. The salesman, it's been reported, lied to Loughner and told him he didn't have the ammunition he was requesting. The reports claimed there was something about Loughner that -- not in so many words -- freaked the salesman out.

We want to know what about Loughner was so off putting that Walmart refused to sell him ammo.

Frankly, if a guy looking like Loughner does in the now-infamous photo taken by Pima County sheriff's deputies after the shooting tried to buy ammo from us, we'd probably refuse to sell it to him, too. As we've noted, Loughner looks like a maniac in the photo -- and based on accounts from U.S. Marshal David Gonzalez, not much has changed since he's been in custody.

We're planning on trying to squeeze some info out of Walmart again today. We'll let you know if they dignify us with a response.

Tags:

ammunition, arizona, gabrielle giffords, jared loughner, tucson shooting, walmart

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Jane

How about just taking a stand for non-violence and not being the store in town that sells guns and ammunitions? I'd say those items have a far greater chance of being harmful than a cheeseburger or a condom, so just run with the odds, be a model for society and make the corporate decision to ban them from premises - it's a private decision, of course. But if I were a shareholder in a corporation, I would not choose to buy stock from Walmart - or McDonald's, for that matter, as I consider myself a person of conscience.

Walter Concrete

Are people or businesses required to speak to the media now? So, you're discourteous if you don't answer the media's questions. How undignified to not want to respond to such an upstanding part of society. Who do they think they are?

Mark

What about ugly people? Should they be allowed to purchase ammo at Walmart. Maybe only handsome male white people should be allowed to purchase ammo? How strange that Loughner's looks would cause you to deny him ammo. Not too PC!