536 gun incidents in grocery stores since January 2020, study says
A study from Guns Down America listed Walmart as the top grocery store that isn’t a safe place anymore.
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After a gunman killed six people at a Walmart in Chesapeake, Virginia, the organization Guns Down America released a study breaking down deadly shootings at grocery stores. San Antonio-based H-E-B was named low on the list at No. 9, while Walmart had the highest number of gun incidents and deaths among grocery chain.
The study pulled data between January 1, 2020, and November 22, 2022, and found that there were 536 incidents of gun violence at twelve of the nation’s largest grocery store chains, which resulted in 186 deaths. San Antonio-based H-E-B had six total gun violence incidents that resulted in two deaths.
Walmart had 363 gun incidents resulting in 112 deaths. Kroger followed with 45 gun incidents and 20 deaths. Food Lion, an east coast company, came in third with 32 gun incidents and 21 deaths. Meanwhile, Stop & Shop had the least amount of deaths, just one from four gun incidents, of the 12 ranked chains. Costco also had four gun incidents but two deaths.
Other companies included Safeway, Publix, Aldi, ShopRite, Meijer, and Whole Foods.
In a statement released with the study, Guns Down America asked the country’s major grocery chains to do everything they can to protect their customers, employees, and the communities they serve each and every day by taking the following specific actions:
- “Invest in the communities they serve by funding evidence-based community violence intervention programs and gun buybacks to help get guns off the street.”
- “Stop making political contributions to lawmakers who receive donations from the NRA, as these officials are putting us all in harm by refusing to even consider legislation that would make firearms harder to get.”
- “Use their D.C. clout and leverage to lobby lawmakers to pass stronger gun laws by making a business case for gun violence prevention.”
