Walmart pulled the assault-rifle model used in the Newtown massacre from its online store yesterday, as the first victims were laid to rest.
A .223-caliber rifle like the one Adam Lanza wielded along with two pistols to kill 20 kids and six adults had been available on Walmart’s Web site until yesterday afternoon.
But after thenation.com reported that a large number of the powerful, rapid-firing weapon were being sold through the retail giant’s site, the listing suddenly disappeared.
It’s not known how Lanza’s mother, Nancy, a gun enthusiast, acquired the .223-caliber Bushmaster AR-15, a civilian version of an assault rifle used by GIs in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
Thenation.com said the model was available at 1,700 Walmarts across the country.
The sales spurt for the rifle could have been fueled by speculation that the expired assault-weapon ban might be reinstituted by Congress in the wake of the Newtown massacre.