Walmart is accused of barring a Marine veteran from its store while he collected items for a toy drive

Walmart is under fire for allegedly barring a Marine veteran from standing inside one of its stores in Ohio while he raised money for a charity last weekend.

The veteran, 69-year-old John Harkness, has been collecting items for Toys for Tots, a children's charity, inside the Walmart store in Medina, Ohio for 15 years, according to Fox 8 News. 

But this year, a store manager told him he had to stand outside the store. 

A customer snapped a photo of Harkness and posted it to Facebook, saying she was outraged that he was forced to stand outside in the cold and rain. 

PostbyJanet Rodin.

"This is an outrage!" Janet Rodin wrote in the post, which has been shared more than 31,000 times since Saturday. "They have been collecting inside since this store opened but his sacrifice and continued volunteer work in the name of our Marines is rewarded this way?" 

Hundreds of customers have expressed outrage over the store's decision on social media.

Walmart says it doesn't allow people to raise money inside of its stores as a matter of company policy. 

"If a Marine or anyone was treated with disrespect, that is unacceptable and we are looking into this matter further to get the facts," the company said in a statement to Business Insider. "Walmart's corporate policy across our more than 4500 stores does not allow this type of solicitation inside our stores and we apologize for any confusion about this policy. Most importantly, we are proud to support wonderful organizations like Toys for Tots, Girls and Boys Scouts, the Salvation Army, and the Red Cross who are stationed outside our stores during the Holidays and other times."

Here are some reactions from Twitter:

      

 

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