Crime-weary business owners in Washington state are reportedly arming themselves to protect their stores against robberies and other offenses – as overall gun permits surged 7% in just one year.
"There are store owners and store clerks who want that additional protection," Tom Matos, owner of Securité Gun Club in Woodinville, told King 5.
Matos said that he saw an increase in business owners visiting his shooting range and gun store back in 2020, in the wake of mass protests and unrest after the killing of George Floyd. Woodinville is located about 20 miles outside of Seattle, which was a national focal point of 2020’s violent summer.
"Once the pandemic started and once the riots started in Seattle, we did notice an increase in store owners coming in and purchasing firearms at that time," Matos said.
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The trend has slowed down in the years following, but he believes those store owners still have their firearms to defend their businesses.
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On Monday, the co-owner of a smoke shop in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood was involved in a shoot-out with a would-be robber. The suspected criminal was shot dead, while the co-owner is in the hospital recovering from a gunshot wound, according to King 5.
Data from the Seattle Police Department show robberies slightly ticked up in 2022. There were 1,755 robberies in the city in 2021, compared to 1,760 in 2022.
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Data from the Washington State Department of Licensing, according to King 5, found that there were 643,317 active concealed pistol licenses in 2021. As of September 2022, there were 688,440 such licenses.
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King 5 reported that other gun stores in the area reported that, overall, the gun owner demographic is shifting. One business, which did not disclose its name, reported it has seen more members of the Asian American and LGBTQ communities purchasing guns over fears of being targeted.
