Dick's Stores Suspend Sales of Certain Rifles

A sporting goods chain says it's suspending sales of modern rifles nationwide because of the school shooting in Connecticut.

Dick's Sporting Goods also says it's removing all guns from display at its store closest to Newtown, where the massacre took place.

Authorities say a gunman killed 26 people, mostly children, with a military-style rifle at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Friday after killing his mother. He then killed himself.

A statement posted on Dick's corporate website expresses sympathy for the victims' families. It says sales of modern sporting rifles will be suspended during "this time of national mourning."

It's not clear how long the suspension will last. A spokesman for Dick's did not immediately return a call for comment on Tuesday.

Pittsburgh-based Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. has more than 500 stores in 44 states, including Minnesota.

Wal-Mart has stopped showing the Bushmaster Patrolman's Carbine M4A3 rifle on its website as well, according to The Nation. But Wal-Mart's site still shows that it's selling other guns at its stores, including the Sig Sauer M400.

Cabela's meanwhile, has stocked up on guns and ammunition heading into the fourth quarter -- largely a bet on surging gun sales after the presidential election

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
 

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