Grocery shoppers could see a new item: bullets

A vending machine selling firearm ammunition was removed almost as quickly as it was installed at a grocery store in Tuscaloosa, Ala., over the Fourth of July weekend – but it’s not the only supermarket where the mobile bullet kiosks have appeared, according to numerous reports. 

ABC News reports that the Fresh Value grocery store in Tuscaloosa installed the vending machine by ammo company American Rounds and then removed it on July 3, citing lack of sales as the culprit.

American Rounds says its vending machines use artificial intelligence and card scanning technology to verify that its customers are 21 years or older, according to Newsweek. 

Grant Magers, CEO of American Rounds, told Newsweek that eight of its vending machines have been or are in the process of being installed in four states across the country. 

Four have gone in at Super C Mart stores in Oklahoma, and one each was installed at a Fresh Value in Pell City, Ala., and a Lowe’s Markets in Canyon Lake, Texas.

"We have over 200 store requests for AARM [Automated Ammo Retail Machine] units covering approximately nine states currently and that number is growing daily," Magers said in an interview with Newsweek.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said the vending machines are legal and do not require a license. “However, commercial sales of ammunition must comply with state laws as well as any applicable federal laws,” the bureau told Newsweek.