When you pop some loose change into a vending machine, you usually get a prize, a snack or even a refreshing drink. But now, vending machines have apparently evolved to dispense an unusual item. A select number of vending machines at grocery stores across the nation are now selling bullets; yes, the ones used to load up firearms.
A company called American Rounds has installed 10 of its “smart retail automated ammo dispensers” inside grocery stores in Alabama, Texas, and Oklahoma, with one in Colorado coming soon. The dispensers are supposed to make buying bullets almost as easy and convenient as buying a snack.
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Each buyer, of course, has to be over 21, and the company ensures this rule is followed by installing artificial intelligence technology into the machines that feature card scanning and facial recognition software, which will be used to check IDs. The company claims on its website that the technology allows them to comply with federal and local laws.
“The whole experience takes a minute and a half once you are familiar with the machine,” said CEO Grant Magers while speaking to AP News earlier this week.
The machines will be accessible to customers 24 hours a day, making them “free from the constraints of store hours and long lines,” according to the company’s website. The machines also weigh 2,000 pounds and are locked behind layers of steel, which is supposed to make buying bullets more secure than buying them from stores that have them sitting on shelves.
“Traditionally ammunition is sold at outdoor-type stores, your sporting goods stores, and it just sits on a shelf, it's very accessible,” said Magers in a video on the company’s website. “Because of that, there's a high rate of theft.”
Gun shops are indeed not immune to theft. According to a data analysis from Everytown Research & Policy, in 2021, 900 thefts or robberies in the U.S. were from gun shops.
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So far, American Rounds has installed the machines at three different supermarkets: Fresh Value, Lowe’s Market and Super C Mart, and it has over 200 more store requests for the machines.
The vending machines have sparked concern amongst some consumers who took to social media platform X to express their discomfort with the idea of people being able to easily buy bullets at grocery stores.
WTH? For when someone is shooting up the grocery store and needs more rounds?? American Rounds, an ammo vending machine in grocery stores 😳#CommonSenseIsGone #guns https://t.co/O5kqONmn6A
— Tammy Audaer Gransee (@tcgransee) July 11, 2024
Are you freaking kidding me! Load up at grocery store & shoot up people! Omg seriously! America is going downhill fast! Thanks Trump!
— Kitten040 (@Kitten04034) July 11, 2024
Some parents I spoke to are concerned at the proximity of the vending machine
— Matt Roy (@MattRoy_TV) July 9, 2024
The Lowe’s market is located right next to a middle school. According to a local parent, kids go to that Market daily after school pic.twitter.com/IuKfy2GoDH
Buying bullets at grocery stores is not a new phenomenon. Currently, consumers can buy guns and ammunition at Walmart (WMT) , which has over 4,600 stores across the country. In 2018, Walmart even increased the minimum age to purchase firearms and ammunition at its locations from 18 to 21 after a mass shooting at a Florida high school left 17 people dead.
Mass shootings have recently been on the rise in the U.S. since 2018. According to data from Gun Violence Archive, in 2023, there were 656 mass shootings across the nation. In 2018, there were only 335.
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