Bay Area gun stores report rise in sales following San Bernardino shooting rampage
SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (KGO) -- Gun sales have been spiking nationwide following the shooting rampage in San Bernardino. President Obama's tough talk on guns Sunday night during his nationwide address appears is now helping fuel that sales boost.
Despite the obstacles in the way of getting a permit to actually carry a gun, people were still buying them on Monday. Many are first-time gun owners who say they simply want a fighting chance.
Sales were brisk at one Vacaville gun store. Aaron Wilson's first handgun reflects the nationwide surge in gun sales after the San Bernardino terrorist attack that left 14 people dead.
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"It shouldn't have happened in San Bernardino, but it did. It could happen anywhere, so I'm going to make sure I'm protected," said gun owner Wilson.
In San Bernardino, the line to buy a gun was four hours long Monday. Sales were not as heavy at the Vacaville gun store, but owner Travis Morgan says his Dublin store sold far more guns than usual.
"Our Dublin store has seen a dramatic increase," Morgan said. "Last year, over this last weekend we sold about 15 guns. This year we sold 57."
There also appears to be a run on ammo.
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"What I'm hearing from my distributors is pistol ammo is still kind of available, depending upon what caliber, 9mm is getting scarce again. And .223, .556 is getting scarce," Morgan said.
President Obama's speech Sunday night is also fueling the sale of guns and ammo.
"We also need to make it harder for people to buy powerful assault weapons like the ones that were used in San Bernardino," Obama said in his address Sunday.
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"Just because you're going to make more laws and make it harder for good people to get guns, doesn't mean it's going to be any harder for the non-law abiding citizens to get guns," said gun owner Guillermo Garcia.
Morgan expects his gun sales to balloon over the next few weeks, but it's still going to take a lot more to reach the sales he logged after the Sandy Hook massacre.
For full coverage of the San Bernardino mass shooting, click here.
