By Aaron Aupperlee and Rich Cholodofsky
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
PITTSBURGH — Requests for licenses to carry concealed handguns doubled in Allegheny County and jumped sharply in Westmoreland County on Monday, a reaction the sheriffs’ offices said they have come to expect in days following mass shootings and terrorists attacks.
The Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office processed 104 permits Monday, up from a daily average of about 50, said Chief Deputy Kevin Kraus.
“There’s been a significant increase which usually occurs after incidents such as in Paris,” Kraus said. “The line will go clear out the door, wrap around to the courtyard, and I would estimate the amount of phone calls quadruple.”
Kraus said the office was flooded with phone calls Monday from people asking about the process and qualifications to obtain a concealed carry license. The sheriff’s office suggested in a Facebook post Tuesday that people send questions via Facebook or through email to the Firearms Division at acso@alleghenycourts.us.
The Facebook post stated there was also a problem with the county courts network Tuesday morning but that issue was quickly resolved, Kraus said.
Westmoreland County Sheriff Jonathan Held said his office processed 46 permits Monday, up from the 30 it processes in a normal day. Held said the office was busy again Tuesday.
“There was a line when we opened up,” Held said.
Coordinated attacks Friday in Paris killed at least 129 people. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks and suicide bombings Thursday in Beirut that killed 43 people.
Sheriff’s offices in Allegheny and Westmoreland counties recorded significant spikes in demand for gun permits after the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., and other mass shootings.
Kraus said everyone who applied for a license Monday said they did so for self defense. He said that people mark self defense as their reason for applying for a license 99 percent of the time.
Concealed carry licenses cost $20. People must appear in person at the sheriff’s office to be photographed and sign their permits. They must have a valid Pennsylvania ID. Applicants go through a state background check.
Some guns stores in Allegheny County said they did not see increased sales over the weekend or Monday. Sales sometimes increase after violent attacks in the United States but not after terrorist attacks and violence in other countries, said Sam Berridge, who runs National Armory LLC in Moon.
Copyrigh 2015 Pittsburgh Tribune-Review