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| (image from Per's Decent Blog) |
In
2012, I was amazed to have chronicled a whopping 54 shootings at Walmart
stores, more than one a week. Here is
a list. Along with 24 non-shooting
gun crimes, this amounted to 75 gun crimes that I could find.
Little did I realize
that 2013 would blow the previous year out of the water!
In 2013, Walmart
stores had 81 shootings, surpassing
the previous year by last October! That's
27 more shootings, or a 50% increase over 2012!
Those shootings left 24 people dead and 40 injured on Walmart properties
nationwide. See a full listing HERE.
But the shocking figures don't stop at shootings. Armed
robberies using guns at Walmart stores were also up substantially. In 2012 there were a mere 21 that I could
find. In 2013, that number jumped to 75!
That's a whopping three and a
half times more armed robberies with guns in 2013!
In all, there were at least 195 different gun-related crimes and accidents at Walmart stores
nationwide in 2013, a drastic 2.5-times increase! The vast majority occurred in the parking
lots, but there were plenty inside
the stores too. There were 8 accidental
shootings, 6 kidnappings
using guns, 3 incidents of stray
bullets, and 34 incidents that involved shoplifters. Ten incidents were drug-related.
The NRA wants us to believe that arming people more would
solve the problem, but the facts contradict that philosophy. In 2013, people
with conceal carry permits were RESPONSIBLE
for twelve incidents of gun crimes
and accidental shootings! And the only
self-defense shootings that happened on Walmart properties were by law
enforcement and an armored
car security guard. In fact, three
separate illegal shootings were committed by
active Walmart employees! Walmart
currently allows conceal carry in its stores.
You would think that 12 incidents by permit holders would get them to
rethink that policy!
Law-enforcement
involved shootings at Walmarts also jumped by 100%, up from 10 in 2012 to
20 in 2013!
Walmart continues to sell guns and ammo in many of their
stores, including
assault weapons. They sell more guns
to civilians than any other gun seller in America, and probably the world. Often those gun displays are
poorly-watched. I've seen in
myself! No wonder that there were at
least 15 different incidents in 2013 of guns
and ammo stolen from Walmart stores, many of which were never recovered to
my knowledge.
So what is it that causes Walmart stores to be such a magnet
for gun crimes and shootings?? That's a
question that Walmart will have to answer, and they'd better do it fast. People are dying and getting maimed at their
stores, and the numbers are only increasing!
That's why their motto should read:
Walmart. Save money. Die faster.
