In the week since John Russell Houser allegedly shot and killed two people in Lafayette, Louisiana’s Grand Theatre, gun sales in the area have risen and concealed carry applications are “through the roof.”
According to Lafayette-based The Advertiser, Barney’s Police Supplies indicates gun sales are up following the incident at the Lafayette theater.
Barney’s president Tim Heinzen said, “There’s always been a spike in sales over the years anytime you have situations similar to this.” He pointed to “the increase in gun sales after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005…[when] news about serial killers or rapists [was making the rounds].”
Heinzen added, “From what I see, it’s a similar situation here. People want to protect themselves and their families.” Since the Lafayette attack, he has seen an increase in “customers who want to buy a gun or gain required training and credentials to carry a concealed weapon — or both.”
He specifically pointed to a surge in interest for concealed carry licenses. What he finds interesting is that a lot of those wanting a concealed carry license “may have never thought of it [before], but now they are concerned and want to protect themselves.”
Breitbart News previously reported on a similar phenomenon following Chattanooga, where surging gun sales turned an otherwise slow summer for gun stores into days of rapid sales of AR-15s, pistols, and revolvers and motivated lots of new interest in concealed carry classes.
Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.