Walmart Thanks Workers In El Paso Shooting While Others Strike Retailer’s Continued Gun Sales

Following the deadly El Paso, Texas, shooting at a local Walmart (WMT), CEO Doug McMillion has penned a post on LinkedIn to the retailer’s employees, thanking them for their courage and heroic efforts.

In his post, McMillion describes the feelings of the company and its workers by saying that a wide range of emotions is being felt, including “shock, anger, grief.” He commended his team as well as the first responders that appeared on the scene for their bravery.

McMillion goes on to say that Walmart is a “learning organization, and, as you can imagine, we will work to understand the many important issues that arise from El Paso and Southaven, as well as those that have been raised in the broader national discussion around gun violence.

“We will be thoughtful and deliberate in our responses, and we will act in a way that reflects the best values and ideals of our company, with a focus on serving the needs of our customers, associates and communities.”

Walmart has come under first for continuing to sell firearms, which it confirmed to Reuters that it had no plans to discontinue after the shooting. Walmart, which is one of the largest retailers of guns and ammunition in the U.S., has raised the age to buy a gun to 21 and stopped selling assault-style rifles in 2015, CNN reported.

On Monday, a Walmart corporate employee, Thomas Marshall, sent a mass email to thousands of employees requesting that they strike until the company imposes a gun ban. On Wednesday, Marshall told USA Today in an email, “The response was overwhelmingly positive, and we have already begun to organize additional demonstrations.”

However, Walmart spokesperson Randy Hargrove told the news outlet, “We’re only aware of two people who participated in the protest and those are the organizers, and both of those individuals came into the office yesterday but were not at their work stations. There’s no indication of unusual call-ins or attendance yesterday.’’

But according to Marshall, “Walmart has completely deactivated our access and accounts. We have been shut out of all systems, essentially ending our jobs without yet firing us. We will be seeking legal counsel in this matter.''

Walmart's Hargrove said that Marshall will regain access when he returns to work pending review of the circumstances, the news outlet reported.

Shares of Walmart stock were up 0.34 percent as of 1:04 p.m. ET on Wednesday.