Dick's Sporting Goods Turned Assault Rifles Into Scrap Metal

Dick's Sporting Goods stopped selling assault-style rifles after the school shooting in Parkland, Fla.—and the chain didn't try to offload its unsold inventory to other retailers. CEO Ed Stack revealed in a CBS interview Sunday that the chain turned the $5 million worth of assault rifles it still had in stock into scrap metal. "I said, 'You know what? If we really think these things should be off the street, we need to destroy them," said Stack, whose father founded the firm in 1948.

Stack said he decided to halt sales of high-capacity magazines and assault-style rifles after he learned that the gunman had legally bought a shotgun at a Dick's location, Fox reports. "We found out that we sold this kid a shotgun," he said. "That's when I said, 'We're done.'" He said he decided on the move even though the weapon used to kill 17 students and school staff was not the one the shooter bought at Dick's. Stack also decided to stop selling guns to people under 21, a move that he estimates cost the company around $250 million. (Earlier this year, the chain stopped selling hunting rifles at more than 100 stores because of poor sales.)