LAKELAND, Fla. (WTSP) -- Organizers of a Tampa Bay gun show last weekend said they had a record crowd. It’s common for gun sales to surge after mass shootings.
Al Delatorre, who owns Guns Galore in Lakeland, said it happened at his store after the Pulse nightclub massacre.
“The last couple of times we've had panic buys, where people who didn't have these guns wanted them,” he said.
In the days since the Parkland shooting, however, he said it's been different.
“I have seen an increase in interest, but in gun sales, just a bump, just a little bit,” he explained.
Several gun stores said the same thing. They haven’t noticed a drastic increase in sales in the past couple of weeks.
Delatorre said most of the interest has been in handguns, not long guns like AR-15s.
“There's not that much of a demand for those things, but there's a demand for personal protection, and that's what I'm seeing people do,” he said.
Delatorre said the people who want AR-15s probably already have them, and most gun buyers are more comfortable with President Trump in the White House. Still, with calls for gun control at the state and national level, he said they’re doing their research now in case the law does change.
Delatorre explains he expects to see an increase in sales soon, but not because of pending legislation. Just after tax season is one of the busiest times of the year for gun stores.
“This is an item that they like to purchase with that extra money that they get from Uncle Sam,” he said.
There's also been talk lately of banning the purchase of bump stocks. The gun stores 10News talked to don't even sell those.
