How often do firearm purchases increase after attacks in the U.S.?
Gun sales are up in El Paso following Saturday’s shooting at a Walmart in the city.
At the Tactical Hunter gun shop, owner Ed Flores said sales are up in the wake of the massacre.
Inside Edition went around the shop with him Tuesday. He said he already sold 15 guns and that cases are not as full because of demand and sales.
He said no one has told him they do not want their weapon or turned anything in.
In some cases, gun purchases do go up after mass shootings, according to a 2019 study in the JAMA Network Open journal. The research concluded that around 20% of mass shootings are often followed by a spike in gun sales.
"Shootings receiving extensive media coverage were associated with increases in handgun purchases, whereas high-fatality shootings were more likely to be associated with decreases in handgun purchases. It is important to study the reasons underlying these changes to better understand the connections between gun violence and public opinion,” the authors of the study concluded.
Following Saturday’s shooting at Walmart, the big box chain says it is not banning firearm sales from its stores.
"There’s been no change in policy,'' Walmart spokesman Randy Hargrove said in a statement to USA Today. "It's horrible ... what’s happened.’’
Investigators say the El Paso shooter targeted Walmart in the city because he got lost and hungry after a 10-hour drive. Cops say he ended up at the Walmart and went inside looking for food, saw many Hispanic shoppers and returned to his car to retrieve his weapon and open fire.
Many of the wounded are being offered golden retriever therapy dogs, provided by the Lutheran Church Charities K-9 Ministries, for comfort as they recover in hospitals.
Family and friends gathered at a football field to pay tribute to the youngest victim, 15-year-old victim Javier Rodriguez, Monday night.
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