Mass shootings trigger gun sales

The day after Christmas, some people shop for handbags, others shop for handguns.

Dave James wants to add to his collection.

“I like to go target practice shooting and skeet shooting with my shotgun, and I have my handgun for home protection,” James said.

About two weeks after the Connecticut school shooting, gun sales nationwide soared — with hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on weapons and ammunition. A news study shows there’s an increase in gun sales following a mass shooting, and gun owners know why.

“People are afraid there are going to be stiffer gun laws and they’re going to outlaw guns so they try to get them before that happens. They react to that,” James said.

Along with an increase in gun sales, ammunition sales skyrocketed.

“I think people are afraid they’re going to start charging a lot more money for ammunition or start rationing it, only allowing you to buy a certain amount,” James said.

The same news study tracked background checks the month of and the month after 15 mass shootings since 1999. In that time period, gun sales rose about 19 percent. What happened in Newtown didn’t make James jump, though.

“I have enough. Not a lot but I have enough. I just buy it as i need it,” James said.

“They’re completely out of control, with guns that have massive amount of ammunition storage, we don’t need that. No one needs that.”

We went to five gun stores in the valley, but none wanted us inside and no one working there wanted to talk to us on camera.