Fears of post-Katrina disorder spark gun-buying spree Marshall Morgan is selling guns faster than he can replace them amid security fears in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
We could hardly keep up. We would sell out of everything, said Morgan, owner of Precision Firearms and Indoor Range in the Louisiana state capital of Baton Rouge.
He estimated that his sales are 10 times what they were before Hurricane Katrina slammed into the US Gulf of Mexico coast August 29.
The storm caused catastrophic flooding and devastation in the states of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, displacing more than a million people and leaving the city of New Orleans swamped and emptied of its people.
Many of those displaced have settled in Baton Rouge, nearly doubling the citys normal population of 228,000.
The storms aftermath also brought a wave of crime and violence, with reports of armed gangs patrolling New Orleans with looted weapons, stealing whatever they wanted. There were reports that people seeking shelter in the citys Superdome sports stadium were raped and murdered, and rescue workers were fired on several times.
State and US authorities said a massive influx of police from all across the United States, along with 50,000 National Guard troops, has restored order to New Orleans and other hurricane-ravaged areas. But residents remain jittery.
New Orleans has always been a dangerous city because of crime,
and people know that and thats why these people want guns, Morgan said. Theres also the fear of the bad element getting permanently displaced here, he said.
Among the popular sellers at his store is the Colt AR-15, a 900-dollar semiautomatic copy of the US militarys M-16 rifle. Weve been selling a lot. We sold a load of AK-47s, too, said salesman Tony Fazzio, standing in front of a half-empty display case.
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