The number of permit requests for guns from residents of Newtown, Conn., the site of the gruesome Sandy Hook school shooting that left 20 children and six adults dead, have risen substantially in recent months.

The New Daily News reported that permits queries in 2013 have already nearly doubled over the number of permit requests for all of 2012. In 2012, only 171 filed applications for guns. But so far this year, between January and August, police have fielded “211 gun permit applications,” the paper reported.

Mike DeLuca, who co-owns MD Shooting Sports, said in Breitbart.com that he’s “seen an uptick of customers seeking permit applications” and those filling out the paperwork range “in age from 21 to 83.”

One common denominator among the applicants, he said, is that they generally believe the government is “trying to take their guns away from them,” Breitbart.comreported.

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