SALEM, N.H. (WHDH) - Some local gun shop owners are speaking out about things like background checks as the nation reels from the tragic shooting deaths of 19 young students and two adults in Texas.
Investigators say the gun the shooter brought into the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde was an AR-15-style semi-automatic rifle similar to the one that is up for sale at Brian Barry’s store, Next Level Firearms in Salem, NH.
“It’s a tragedy,” said Barry. “We can always go back to the ‘what ifs.'”
Barry said that like everyone else, he’s heartbroken over the loss of life, but takes exception when tragedies like this happen and people turn their attention to gun shops and properly licensed gun owners.
“If we don’t like someone when they’re answering questions or presenting themselves, yeah, we won’t sell to them,” he said.
The gun shop owner said stores like his go well beyond the federal and state-mandated background checks.
“It’s important that we follow the rules,” he said. “We screen people too. The number of times that we ask questions like, ‘What is your experience?’ and ‘What are you going to do with this?'”
Barry said safety is always on the minds of gun dealers and owners who take pride in following all the rules and regulations.
“This is an inanimate object. This is not going to go and do anything by itself,” he said while cradling a gun. “It’s the person — it’s the mental health that seems to be the issue here. No reasonable person wants to see this stuff. It’s awful but, in the end, it’s not this. Why do people go off the handle? Who knows.”
Like many, Barry said he hopes the Texas tragedy leads to change so that mass school shootings never happen again.
(Copyright (c) 2025 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)