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Posted on 09/12/2001 6:09:11 PM PDT by Willie Green

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.

Many local residents stocked up on ammunition and firearms Tuesday, local business operators said.

Steve Romanoff, owner of Allegheny River Arsenal in Verona, said almost 30 customers bought one or two 1,000-round cases of ammunition.

"There was a definite, major upswing in sales of ammunition and firearms," he said. "Much more than for the Y2K scare."

"They were buying defensive-type weapons - semiautomatic handguns and rifles ... not sporting types, but the types of weapons used for defense."

Romanoff said sales volume at the store was probably five times more than normal.

Based on inquiries from callers, he anticipated additional traffic for another few days.

"It's not a way we like to see purchases increase ... but it takes some kind of disaster to really stimulate the firearms business," Romanoff said.

Chris Murray, manager of Federal Firearms Co. on Thoms Run Road near Presto, said more than a dozen customers bought one or two 50-round boxes of handgun ammunition. That was unusually high for a Tuesday morning, he said.

"It scared them, hitting so close to home," Murray said.

Ammunition sales were up about 15 percent at Island Firearms on Neville Island, said Mike Pugh, son-in-law of owner Wayne Lykens.

Customers bought ammunition for handguns, shotguns and rifles, he said.

"Everybody was shocked," he said. "They didn't know how to act.

"We don't know what's going to happen next or where it's going to happen," Pugh said.

James Dermitt of Moon Township took home two boxes of shotgun shells from Island Firearms.

"You never know what will happen after dark," he said. "The people responsible might come out of the woodwork.

"If they hit the Pentagon, how safe are we? This is scary stuff."

"You don't know - there could be some sort of larger conspiracy at work here," Dermitt said. "The sun is going to go down tonight, and I just feel better knowing I have a shotgun and a couple boxes of shells sitting here."

At Bullseye Safety Education and Sales, an indoor target range and training center on Campbells Run Road in Robinson Township, Chief Operating Officer Bill Fabus said he saw no increase in ammunition purchases.

"Like most other Americans, (our customers) are outraged," he said.

Howard McClellan can be reached at hmcclellan@tribweb.com or at (412) 306-4534.

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