Stores In Alabama, Texas And Oklahoma Now Provide Automatically Machines Selling Pistol Bullets To Fugitives

Bullet illustration. (Unsplash/Kasper Gant)

JAKARTA - Auto-selling machines selling ammunition will now be available in grocery stores in Alabama, Texas, and Oklahoma United States, raising mixed feelings from officials in those states.

According to the company's website, American Rounds, the machine distributor, uses AI technology to scan customer identities and facial recognition software to verify customer identities.

The software works together to verify the age of the buyer and whether the person using the machine matches the scanned identity.

According to the American Rounds, each machine sells ammunition for a variety of firearms, including rifles and pistols.

American Rounds CEO Grant Magers said local grocery stores contacted him in the spring of 2023 about the use of his technology to sell ammunition. The company launched its first engine in Alabama in November.

"It's not much different from setting up other businesses," Magers said.

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has allowed the machine. The agency said to CNN in a statement: "Sedical licenses are not required to sell ammunition. However, commercial ammunition sales must comply with state laws and applicable federal laws."

Meanwhile, Oklahoma's Attorney General's Office told CNN, "a review of the state law shows that this selling machine appears legitimate."

CNN has contacted the Attorney Generals of Alabama and Texas to confirm the legality of this machine in their respective states. Earlier this month, ammunition winging machine at Tuscaloosa, Alabama was dismantled and moved by the American Rounds.

"We as a business are making the decision to move the machine because we don't have the sales we want at that location compared to our other place," said Magers.

Kip Tyner, a member of the city council of Tuscaloosa, told CNN: "Maybe the machine fell into the hands of irresponsible people. I don't see it as a must."

"There could be a fight, and someone is angry with other people and instead of calming down and having to go to the store the next day, they can go to the grocery store to buy ammunition and use it for the wrong reasons," said Tyner.

The American Rounds plan to expand to more states, after receiving offers from stores in California, Florida and Hawaii, among others, Magers said. The company, he said, is preparing two more engines in Texas and Colorado in the next few weeks.