“Usually we have a lot more than this. This case isn’t even full.”
Manager Guy Hanson is having a hard time keeping handguns in his store, Skagit Arms, after the Cascade Mall shooting in Burlington, Wash. Gun purchases and concealed-carry permits have risen dramatically since the attack, with Anacortes Police Chief Bonnie Bowers reporting eight times the normal number of carry permit applications.
Anacortes resident Mary Parker applied for a permit last week, feeling the need for protection after the mall shooting, adding, “I want to make sure it would never happen to me and that if it did, I would be prepared. I want to be in a place where I will never be afraid,” she told the Seattle Times. Meanwhile, the owner of Skagit Arms, Anthon Steen, has seen concealable firearm sales double. Steen told the Times, “Typically this time of year we are busy with hunting stuff. We got a double whammy recently because of the increase in handgun sales.”
