Sales of Glock Pistols Surge After Use in Tucson Shooting

In the any-publicity-is good-publicity-department: Sales of semiautomatic Glock pistols like that used in the Gabrielle Giffords shooting have spiked in Arizona and across the nation in the days following the attack, reports Bloomberg.

One-day sales of the $500 Glocks were up 60% in Arizona when comparing Jan. 10 of this year to last. Other states reporting big spikes were Ohio (65%), Illinois (38%), New York (33%), and California (16%), according to FBI figures.

Mr. Mercante said sales at his store had edged up this week, just as they have across Arizona since the shooting. “If you turn on the TV and see gun, gun, gun, people want to buy a gun,” he said.

Still, there were small indications that things were different at the gun show this weekend. A box at the exhibit hall’s entrance solicited donations for a “Tragedy in Tucson” victims fund. (A sign promoting the National Rifle Association was beside the box.) An American flag flew at half-staff.