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Walmart stores suffer damage from George Floyd protests and looting — several hundred forced to close early

Brian Sozzi
·Executive Editor
Updated ·2-min read

Walmart (WMT) joins a growing list of retailers whose stores have been vandalized and looted amidst the George Floyd protests sweeping the U.S.

A Walmart spokesperson told Yahoo Finance that more than a dozen stores across the country have sustained damage from the violence (seen below, as an example). Several “hotspots” for the store damage include Minnesota and Dallas, says the spokesperson. Walmart operates more than 5,300 stores in the U.S., including 81 in Minnesota where the protests have been the most intense following the death of Floyd at the hands of a police officer.

The conditions on the ground at some stores led Walmart to close several hundred stores about one hour early on Sunday, the spokesperson added, so employees could return home safely. The majority of these stores are slated to reopen on Monday, provided it’s safe to do so.

Walmart rival Target has also been hit hard by protests and looting, forcing it to take action as well. The discount retailer closed or adjusted hours at 200 stores over the weekend, a spokesperson told Yahoo Finance via email. Target operates 1,900 stores across the U.S, including 73 in Minnesota.

Brian Sozzi is an editor-at-large and co-anchor of The First Trade at Yahoo Finance. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn.

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