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Victims fighting back with firearms
Updated: Monday, 09 Jan 2012, 7:42 PM EST
Published : Monday, 09 Jan 2012, 7:42 PM EST
HAMPTON ROADS, Va. (WAVY) - In the past few weeks, several victims in Hampton Roads have shot their attackers in an effort to protect themselves.
Just last week, a clerk at a Virginia Beach 7-Eleven shot a teenage boy who was allegedly trying to rob the store.
Blake Richardson later showed up at an area hospital later with a gunshot wound.
A new report says gun sales are surging in the state, but gun control advocates say the numbers could be misleading.
The statistics used to gage the number of gun-sales in Virginia last year are based on the number of mandatory background checks.
State police reported 321,166 gun transactions in 2011, processing almost 42,000 in the month of Dec. alone.
Gun-control advocates say the transactions don't necessarily represent sales.
Josh Horowitz, Executive Director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence , said, "...it's background checks, it really tells you very little about sales...for instance, if you're in a situation where you put your money down to buy a gun and the background check comes back negative, you can't purchase that gun."
Horowitz says some of the so-called "gun transactions" have nothing to do with purchasing a new firearm.
"...there's lots of permit checks. So, when people either get a concealed carry permit or when the state checks them on a regular basis that number comes out. And that's about five, over five million," Horowitz explained.
Nationally, a record 16.4 million firearms background checks were processed last year. Almost two million in Dec. alone.
But, when you combine that statistic with the fact that there have been three incidents in the last 11 days of private citizens in Hampton Roads shooting alleged robber you have to wonder if there isn't a trend.
Virginia Beach Commonwealth's Attorney Harvey Bryant said, "I think a lot of people have armed themselves to protect themselves. Ah, the law has also provided protections for people in their homes."
A little more than a week ago, a man in Virginia Beach shot an intruder in his home and no charges were filed.
"If a person comes in with a deadly weapon in an aggressive manner, most people are gonna feel like they're in fear of serious bodily harm and the law entitles them to protect them self with deadly force," Harvey explained.
But, Harvey hopes buying a gun for protection isn't a new local trend. He says these things usually come in cycles, but he does not expect to see a wave of citizens suddenly gunning down criminals.
Gun advocates add that some of the background checks are done on people trying to buy their guns back from a pawn shop and don't represent new sales.