Local Gun Sales Up

It's like a scene on Black Friday: packed parking lots, product flying off the shelves, and customers trying to get their hands on merchandise before it disappears.

"I do think it's important to defend yourself. It's a right as Americans to be able to own and carry guns" says John Amos. Amos and his wife were among the dozens who flocked to Fort Wayne's Freedom Firearms today.

"I'm just exercising my right as an American" says Amos.

Employees say sales have skyrocketed since Friday's shooting in Connecticut. They say the most popular item today is the AR15, what many consider an assault weapon.

It's a similar weapon gunman Adam Lanza used to kill 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary.

An AR15 was the weapon of choice for a recent shooting at an Oregon mall. It was also used by James Holmes in an attack that killed twelve people at a Colorado movie theater a few months ago.

Many Hoosiers tell WFFT they're stocking up on assault-style weapons because they believe their right to buy one may be going away.

"I really honestly believe that criminals, no matter what, are going to get a hold of a gun and they can make it, they can steal it and there's no one to say that they can't go into somebody's home and steal the gun if they want to" Amos says.

While assault weapons are banned in Connecticut, they're legal for purchase in most of Indiana. Many lawmakers, though, are pushing for a federal ban. But, Amos says, even if passed if won't make reduce violence.

"No law is going to stop a criminal" he says.