CHRISTIANA, Del. - Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings has asked the Superior Court to enforce a subpoena against Cabela's, searching for answers regarding over half a million of stolen ammunition from its location in Christiana.
Officials say that the Department of Justice is investigating whether Cabela's has violated various laws, including the state's firearms industry public nuisance law. They say that the store has the ammo stored in the center of the store, unsecured, with no visible effort made to prevent massive shoplifting.
“In the wrong hands, a single round of ammunition can take a life — but Cabela’s watched a half-million rounds walk out the door,” said AG Jennings. “Ammo isn’t candy. It shouldn’t be left on a sales floor without a meaningful effort to deter shoplifting. Our team has already gotten results and led Cabela’s to store its ammunition more safely, but our investigation isn’t over. Businesses need to be responsible members of our community; that includes gun dealers taking reasonable steps to prevent gun violence. Unfortunately, Cabela’s casual storage, and their stonewalling of this investigation, tell us that they still aren’t taking that responsibility seriously. We’re asking the Court to step in so that we can ensure our neighbors are being kept safe.”
According to officials, it is believed that a large amount of the ammo was sold to drug dealers and other criminals in both Delaware and Pennsylvania. They say that the company has not promptly or meaningfully responded to the subpoena.
Officials say that other possible violations being investigated includes but is not limited to the Keshall “KeKe” Anderson Safe Firearms Sales Act, which was passed in 2022. The act is named after an innocent bystander killed in a 2016 shooting, the gun involved bought by someone other than the shooter in Cabela's. The bill repeals special immunity granted to gun dealers like Cabela’s under state law, says officials, making Delaware the first state in the country to repeal a gun industry liability shield.
The subpoena support comes from Jennings' Office of Impact Litigation, which was created in 2019.