Maine's deadly mass shooting has inspired America's latest run on guns

Two days after police say a 40-year-old firearms instructor killed 18 people and wounded more than a dozen others at two separate businesses in Lewiston, Maine, President Joe Biden asked at a campaign fundraiser: “Who the hell needs an assault weapon that can hold, in some cases, up to 100 rounds?” As the president was calling out the easy access to such weapons, daily sales at a Maine gun store were some 500% over expectations, its owner said.

Who could have predicted that the horrific mass shootings in Maine carried out by a man with an assault-style rifle would have prompted a run on local gun stores? At this point, just about anybody could have, if they’ve paid attention since 2020, when gun sales hit an all-time high. According to The Washington Post, store owners said people were rushing in to buy weapons to get what they could in case the federal government eventually bans the sale of some guns or in case they encountered the suspect (who was later found dead of a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound).