An image first surfaced on Twitter, after Ismail Kidd Noorzai of Los Angeles spotted the ‘back to school” gaffe. Revealing a glass case full of guns, the sign in the background tells kids to “Own the school year like a hero.”

'Back to school' display with guns

After Noorzai posted the image of the Walmart “back to school” display, it soon went viral with criticism rife against the retail giant. In his tweet, Noorzai added the caption, “Oh, @Walmart.”

An initial response from Walmart’s Twitter account identified the store in question as an Evansville, Indiana location.

However, a spokesman for Walmart later told CNN Money that their first impressions were wrong and that the company is still in the process of identifying the store to get the offending sign removed.

As reported by the Sacramento Bee, Walmart has been kept busy responding to the many angry posts and comments on social media who call the positioning of the sign totally “unacceptable,” while Walmart responded to say it was a “regrettable situation.”

According to CNN, Walmart has been targeted by activists in the past, telling them to stop selling guns in their stores.

However, while the retail group did choose to stop selling handguns back in 1993, rifles for hunting and sport are still available in 1,700-1,800 of Walmart’s 4,000 stores across the U.S., In fact, they are reportedly the largest seller of firearms in the country.

However pushes by activists to stop Walmart selling guns often coincide with mass shootings in the U.S., including the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre of 2012.

It didn’t take Twitter users long to identify that fact while commenting on the unfortunate layout of the back to school promotion. One Twitter user commented that they had heard it was a “prank.”

Another Twitter user, first of all, believed it was a photoshopped meme, saying it was “nuts.”

Previously marketing gaffes courtesy Walmart

According to CNN, this isn’t the first time Walmart has been in trouble over its marketing strategy.

In a store in Panama City Beach last September, workers had stacked up boxes of Coca-Cola in the shape of the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center. This action was reportedly an attempt to commemorate those lost on 9/11, but it quickly backfired on them. The retail giant’s corporate office quickly apologized, saying the store didn’t mean to disrespect the victims and the display was removed from the store. Another incident happened back in 2014 when Walmart was forced to apologize for advertising a “fat girl” costume on the company’s website.
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