Bump stocks that give semi-automatic weapons automatic firing power are flying off the shelves ever since it emerged that madman Stephen Paddock used them…
Bump stocks that give semi-automatic weapons automatic firing power are flying off the shelves ever since it emerged that madman Stephen Paddock used them during his Las Vegas shooting spree, a report said.
The Georgia Gun Store in Gainesville rarely sold bump stocks before Sunday’s massacre but has been fielding calls from interested customers since the attack and claim their suppliers are out of stock, ABC Australia reported.
“Anybody that wants to get them is probably just worried that they’re going to be banned,” store owner Kellie Weeks told the outlet.
When Weeks called several of her distributors seeking more supplies, they told her they were out of stock, the outlet said.
Authorities said Paddock had 12 rifles tricked out with bump stocks among his large cache of weapons, which gave him the ability to rapidly fire at his targets. A bump stock essentially turns a semi-automatic weapon into a fully automatic one that allows the shooter to unleash the entire magazine with one trigger pull.
Birmingham Pistol Wholesale in Alabama had a similar experience—they usually only sell about ten bump stocks a year but started getting calls about the modifier on Tuesday after the first pictures of Paddock’s weapons were released.
A leading bump stock manufacturer, Slide Fire, said they were sold out on their website.
“We have decided to temporarily suspend taking new orders in order to provide the best service with those already placed,” the website reads.
Interested customers can sign up to be notified when more become available.
Other online retailers like Firequest and Midway USA have also sold out while Walmart has decided to remove them from the shelves.
In a statement to Business Insider, Walmart said the items were sold by “third-party sellers” and violate their “prohibited item policy.”
“[They] never should have been sold on our site. They were immediately removed.”
