The CEO of Dick’s Sporting Goods says that after the company made the decision to no longer sell assault-style rifles, more than $5 million worth of the weapons were destroyed.
In an interview with CBS News that aired Sunday, Ed Stack said following the decision last year to stop offering assault-style rifles, the question of what to with the remaining inventory lingered.
“I said, ‘You know what? If we really think these things should be off the street, we need to destroy them,'” Stack said, adding that the company turned $5 million worth of the weapons into scrap metal.
Dick’s made the decision to stop carrying the rifles following the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., which left 17 dead and reignited the national conversation surrounding gun control.
“We found out that we sold this kid a shotgun,” Stack said. “That’s when I said, ‘We’re done.'”
Dick’s also said at the time that it would stop selling high-capacity magazines and no longer allow people who are under the age of 21 to purchase a gun.
Stack added that the decisions cost the company roughly $250 million in lost sales.
While Dick’s saw a loss in immediate sales, its stock increased in the year after making the announcement.
Currently, 125 of Dick’s 729 stores no longer sell guns of any kind. Stack said he is considering expanding that policy too.
*story by The Hill