After El Paso Shooting, Walmart Removes All Violent Images From Stores Nationwide
NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM/AP) - After a deadly mass shooting in El Paso that killed more than 20 people, Walmart is removing all signs, displays and videos that depict violence from all of its stores.
An internal memo instructed employees to remove any marketing material, turn off or unplug video game consoles that show violent games — specifically Xbox and PlayStation units, and to make sure that no violence is depicted on screens in its electronics departments.
The retailer also ordered employees to turn off hunting season videos in the sporting goods department. "We've taken this action out of respect for the incidents of the past week," said spokeswoman Tara House on Friday.
As of this posting, 22 people died from injuries sustained during the Walmart shooting that also injured some two dozen others.
The company's policy on video games that depict violence has not changed, nor has its policy on gun sales.
There is no known link between violent video games and violent acts.
Patrick Markey, a psychology professor at Villanova University who focuses on video games, found in his research that men who commit severe acts of violence actually play violent video games less than the average male. About 20% were interested in violent video games, compared with 70% of the general population, he explained in his 2017 book "Moral Combat: Why the War on Violent Video Games Is Wrong."
Authorities believe Patrick Crusius, 21, wrote a racist, rambling screed that railed against mass immigration before opening fire last weekend at the El Paso Walmart. Crusius lived in Allen, Texas, and El Paso police say he drove more than 10 hours from there to the largely Latino border city to carry out the shooting. He's been charged with capital murder.
Chris Ayres, a Dallas-based attorney for Crusius' family, told The Associated Press in an email they never heard Crusius express the kind of racist and anti-immigrant views that he allegedly posted online.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)