’There is high anxiety,’ one observer says. Many gun customers were first-time buyers, and some signed up for shooting classes.

WEST PALM BEACH — In the week and a half or so after the coronavirus shifted from a distant threat to a local one, Alex Shkop saw a jump in business.

Shkop sells guns.

"It was a short-lived spike, but a big spike," Shkop, owner of Guns and Range Training Center in West Palm Beach, said Monday, looking back on those days in mid-March. “But it's over.“

Shkop did not have hard numbers but said sales were five or six times their normal levels.

He is not alone. Statewide, for March, state-mandated background checks, an indicator of the volume of gun sales, were double those for February, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

March totals through Sunday, were 161,634, compared to 89,495 in February. The figures also were double the 88,481 for March 2019.

Even more dramatically, daily totals jumped exponentially over the span of several days in mid-March as the virus crisis accelerated.

Weekday submissions averaged about 3,000 March 9, 10 and 11. Starting on March 12, the morning after President Donald J. Trump addressed the nation about the crisis, they leaped each day, peaking at more than 13,000 on March 20.

Totals were nearly 12,000 the following day, a Saturday, even though weekend submissions usually average far less than those on weekdays.

By March 28, the total was below 5,000, still well above normal.

FDLE did not have breakdowns by county.

Nationally, background checks in March totaled 3.74 million, a substantial jump from 2.8 million in February and 2.64 million in March 2019, according to an FBI database.

'There is high anxiety’

Larry Barton, a professor of crisis management and public safety at the University of Central Florida and and an instructor at the FBI Academy, was not surprised at the spike.

"There is high anxiety," Barton said Wednesday from Cocoa Beach. "Most people are managing that anxiety really well, considering the breadth of what we're facing. There are some people whose responses to these unprecedented events really are not logical."

With so many customers turning out to be first-time buyers, with no training and likely acting on impulse, Barton expressed concern that the most likely use of those newly purchased guns would be not against a so-called “bad actor.”

>>Coronavirus Florida: My husband survived COVID-19. ‘And it was one hell of a ride.’

Instead, he said, there’s a chance the guns will be fired by accident on an innocent person, on the new gun owners themselves — accidentally or deliberately — or against other relatives, as people, some of whom are dealing with behavioral or substance-abuse issues, are crammed into homes for weeks on end.

"Their desire to protect their family is one we all have," Barton said. "Purchasing a gun is a psychological comfort, but it is not something I encourage."

Some gun shops have closed during the crisis, but many have stayed open, even as other parts of the retail industry have had to shut down.

Government orders in Florida and elsewhere have labeled them "essential,“ noting they provide supplies to law-enforcement agencies. Some gun-control advocacy groups, such as Everytown for Gun Safety and the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, have taken issue with the distinction.

What gun dealers saw

Shkop, the West Palm Beach gun shop owner, said this week his customers "definitely felt that that they were looking for a sense of security.“

He said some did mention concerns about an increase in activity by “bad actors” at a time when law enforcement could be overwhelmed in responding to the crisis.

Shkop said all his recent sales were of handguns, and most of the customers were first-time buyers.

"A lot of people will never touch it," he said of their new weapons. Several of his first-time buyers did sign up for shooting classes.

Asked if some buyers might have been better off waiting, he said, "We're not the judge and the jury. We just try to help out."

.img-100{ width: 100% !important; padding:0 !important; margin: 0 0 5px 0 !important; } .img-100 img{ margin-bottom:5px !important; } .img-100-caption{ font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif !important; font-size:.8em !important; line-height:110% !important; text-align: left; margin: 0!important; padding: 0!important; } The caption should read: Brandon Wexler, right, reported selling 900 guns and 3 million rounds of ammunition in the span of four days at his store in Delray Beach after President Trump first spoke about the coronavirus in March 2020. Wexler is seen here with a customer in Delray Beach in August 2017. [BRUCE R. BENNETT/palmbeachpost.com]

Sales are up "a million percent," Brandon Wexler, owner of K and W Gunworks in Delray Beach, said Tuesday. He said he sold 900 guns and 3 million rounds in just four days.

As did the others, Wexler said more than two-thirds of customers are first-time buyers. He said many are signing up for classes.

"We're making sure safety is paramount," Wexler said.

>>Coronavirus Florida: I was tested in Palm Beach County. Here’s what you should know.

USA Defense Guns and Ammo in Palm Springs saw "definitely a real rise in the past month, but not crazy," owner Ramon Viamonte said Tuesday.

Viamonte said he has seen a mix of first-timers and regulars.

"If somebody doesn't know how to handle a weapon, we have a little conversation with them. Show them how to use it," Viamonte said.

Sales are "definitely up. People are scared," Gregg Stephens, owner of Gator Guns and Pawn in suburban West Palm Beach, said Tuesday.

He said customers also were concerned about their safety at a time when some people might panic and do harm, especially at a time when law enforcement is strained.

"If they couldn't get food, people might come around," he said, "Desperate times, desperate means."

>>Coronavirus Florida: DeSantis to order ‘all Floridians’ to stay put

He also said most of his recent customers also were first-time buyers. He said he scheduled lessons for some, while in other cases he took time to at least provide the basics.

He said he didn’t like sending someone out with a gun who doesn’t have at least a little knowledge. And, he said, when the crisis eases, he'll see a repeat of what he's seen before: "People want to sell me the gun that they bought."

EK@pbpost.com

@eliotkpbp