Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The AR-15 style gun was used in multiple US mass shootings

US retailer Walmart has announced it will stop selling certain military-grade guns due to low sales.

That includes AR-15 rifles and other semiautomatic weapons, which were only being sold at a third of the 4,600 Walmart stores in the US.

A company spokesman said the decision to stop selling the guns "wasn't political."

Walmart shops carrying the guns will remove them before the store starts selling autumn merchandise.

"It's similar to what we do with any product. Being what it is, it gets a little more attention, but it's the same process for any product," said spokesman Kory Lundberg.

The company has not released specific sales numbers for the guns it is taking off the shelves, but said it will increase its stock of shotguns and other more popular rifles.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Shareholders have put pressure on Wal-Mart to stop selling AR-15s before

Walmart shareholders have pushed the company to re-think its selling of guns with high-capacity magazines.

Semi-automatic AR-15 rifles were used in the Sandy Hook massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, and the movie theatre shooting in Aurora, Colorado.

In 2006 the company decreased the number of stores selling guns, but does not plan on stopping gun sales completely, Mr Lundberg said.