Gun sales, online searches about guns and accidental gun deaths all surged in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, new research shows.
Immediately following the horrific school shooting, an additional 60 people – including 20 children – were killed in gun accidents, and their deaths were a direct result of increased exposure to guns and political developments, researchers say.
In the five months after the tragedy, Americans purchased an additional three million guns, the study estimates.
The new study from Wellesley College used data on Google searches about buying and cleaning guns, background checks for purchasing firearms and records of accidental gun deaths to examine the consequences of the 2013 shooting and subsequent policy discussions.
