The gun racks at Dick’s Sporting Goods in Danbury are empty out of respect for victims of the tragedy in Newtown.
The Danbury store is the closest one to Newtown, 13 and a half miles away from Sandy Hook Elementary, where 20 students and six staff members were killed in a mass shooting.
The Danbury store referred calls to corporate communications for Dick’s Sporting Goods and NBC Connecticut has reached out to the company, but the The Dallas Morning News obtained a statement from the company saying that the company stopped selling guns in its store near Newtown.
“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," the statement posted on the Dallas Morning News Web site states.
"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 company statement says, according to the Dallas Morning News.
The shooter, identified as Adam Lanza, 20, of Newtown, is believed to have used a Bushmaster AR-15-style rifle, a civilian version of the military's M-16. It is similar to the weapon used in a recent shopping mall shooting in Oregon and other deadly attacks around the U.S. Versions of the AR-15 were outlawed in this country under the 1994 assault weapons ban, but the law expired in 2004.
In addition to the Bushmaster, Lanza was also carrying two handguns—all of which were legally purchased by Lanza's mother, a firearms enthusiast.
Photo Credit: Jo Ling Kent
