The FBI said Friday it set a one-day record for background checks on people wanting to buy firearms.
The feds conducted 185,000 background checks – eclipsing the old single-day record of 177,000 checks.
In Indianapolis, with the homicide rate approaching historic levels, police are reporting the same phenomena.
In a month-by-month comparison, handgun applications in 2015 have far outdistanced applications in 2014. In November alone, the number of permit requests more than doubled.
CALL 6 | This county ranks highest for gun ownership, and guns owned by women
One of the people buying a gun this year was Robert Cooper, who said he's concerned about protecting his family.
"I'm a veteran, so I understand all these things going on in the world," Cooper said. "I've got to take care of me. I've got to take care of my family. I hope I never have to use it."
In the third quarter of this year, the Indiana State Police issued more than 2,400 firearms licenses to residents of Indianapolis alone.
Kelli Robinson says she already carries a .38-caliber revolver, but this week she purchased a second firearm.
"I'm a widow with a severely autistic child that I'm going to protect with my last breath," Robinson said. "And is this is one way I can do that and still survive to be with him, then I'm going to do it."
PREVIOUS | More Indiana women carrying guns
Nearly 600,000 people in Indiana have a license to carry a firearm. One quarter of those licenses are held by women.
