The Paris and San Bernardino attacks have fuelled a surge in US gun sales, as Americans seek to protect themselves — and stock up in case legislators finally act to tighten firearms controls.
The Paris and San Bernardino attacks have fuelled a surge in US gun sales, as Americans seek to protect themselves — and stock up in case legislators finally act to tighten firearms controls.
Since a Muslim husband and wife opened fire in California on December 2, killing 14 people and wounding 22 others, sales at the RTSP range in New Jersey — one of the largest centers in the northe-astern United States — have surged 50 per cent, according to one of its owners.
“We saw a spike after Paris and San Bernardino even more so,” Rick Friedman said.
If gun purchases follow the same pattern as after previous mass shootings, Mr Friedman said, sales will slow after several months.
As well as selling firearms, his sprawling facility in Randolph has 21 ports or spaces on its range from which clients can practice shooting.
Just down the road in Jersey City, Caso’s Gun-A-Rama saw an equal jump in sales, which its manager attributed to nervousness over political chatter about ramping up anti-gun legislation.
“That’s when everybody has been panicking,” Lisa Caso said.
P. James Debney, CEO of storied US gunmaker Smith & Wesson, told investors last week that his company sees “growth in the handgun portion of the consumer market as a longstanding trend,” as he discussed its latest quarterly earnings. Following a 32 per cent increase in sales for August, September and October the manufacturer raised its earnings target for the full financial year.
