Firearm sales in Tennessee were delayed because of a rise in demand during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation website posted a message Thursday on the page it uses to perform background checks to say it would not be allowing new transactions for firearm purchases.
A spokesman for the bureau said a number of factors were to blame, including limited staffing during the health crisis, which has killed more than 200 deaths in the United States.
“Today, TICS experienced an uncharacteristic delay in processing transactions as a result of three things: a sharp increase in background check requests in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, limited staff access to TBI facilities as a result of the pandemic, and an approximately one-hour, unplanned outage in the technical connection needed to run these background checks,” the TBI representative told WTLV 8, a CBS affiliate located in Knoxville.
A store in Kingsport, the Indian Springs Armory, apologized to customers for the delay on social media. “TBI has shut down background checks. We do not know how long this will last. We have been receiving shipments, but transfers will not be conducted until we reopen,” the store said.
Fears associated with the coronavirus pandemic have resulted in a historic spike in gun sales around the nation. The National Shooting Sports Foundation said background checks surged 300% earlier this week. The group said that the daily “volume” of applications is double what it was last year.
The FBI office in charge of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System said in a statement that they are “working to maintain our services.”
