Coronavirus concerns cause gun store owner to see big uptick in handgun and shotgun purchases

MESA, Ariz. - Forget toilet paper and hand sanitizer, people across the country are stocking up on guns and ammunition.

Another symptom of what some are calling "panic buying" extends to personal protection, guns.

A Mesa gun store owner says he's seen a spike he hasn't seen in quite some time and many of them are first time buyers. "If you can't buy toilet paper you can buy guns and ammo," says Guns Ect. owner Ron Sega.

He hasn't seen sales like this since the 8 years former President Barack Obama was in office.

"He was the best gun salesman there ever was, that was the scare for 8 years, he was gonna take your guns from you," he said in reference to when Obama was in office.

Now, a different kind of fear.

Coronavirus uncertainty has led to a spike of guns and ammo sales at his store. "We sold upwards of 40 to 50 guns yesterday alone," he said.

That's a big uptick from a typical day, before the virus impacted the country. The most popular guns being purchased? Home protection weapons such as handguns and shotguns.

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