Reuters: U.S.: Background check applications for gun buys surge in Colorado

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Background check applications for gun buys surge in Colorado Jul 25th 2012, 00:37 Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Colorado shooting victim's wife has baby; 20 still hospitalized 7:51pm EDT Colorado massacre suspect appears in court looking dazed, sleepy 5:32am EDT "Dark Knight Rises" earns $160.8 million in debut Mon, Jul 23 2012 Colorado massacre suspect looks dazed in first court hearing Mon, Jul 23 2012 Colorado town, Obama honor shooting victims Mon, Jul 23 2012 A Palmetto M4 assault rifle is seen at the Rocky Mountain Guns and Ammo store in Parker, Colorado July 24, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Shannon Stapleton By Keith Coffman DENVER | Tue Jul 24, 2012 8:37pm EDT DENVER (Reuters) - The number of people in Colorado applying for background checks to purchase firearms has surged in the aftermath of the movie theater shootings in Aurora, law enforcement officials said on Tuesday. In the three days after the rampage, 2,887 people were approved for gun buys, compared with 2,012 the weekend before, a 43.5 percent increase, according to data supplied by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. The bureau has an online background check system that tracks and processes gun permit applications. The system does not show how many guns were actually sold. A gunman clad in tactical body armor and a gas mask and carrying three guns opened fire at a midnight showing of the new "Batman" film early on Friday, killing 12 people and wounding 58 others. Suspect James Eagan Holmes, 24, was arrested minutes later behind the theater and made an initial court appearance on Monday. Brandon Baker, owner of Rocky Mountain Guns & Ammo in Parker, Colorado, about 15 miles from Aurora, said business had been brisk since the shooting. "Our gun sales have gone up, but we've had more requests for training," said Baker, a certified firearms instructor. "I'm booked up for the next 2 1/2 months." Most of the people seeking firearms or training had been women, Baker said, adding his training included "situational awareness" in addition to firearms proficiency. (Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Peter Cooney) Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above.

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