Background checks for firearms double in Colorado; over 14,000 in one week

LAKEWOOD, Colo. (KRDO) -- The coronavirus pandemic panic buying is apparently spreading to firearms stores. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation says the number of background checks for firearm transfers has more than doubled compared to this time last year.

In the last week, more than 14,000 background checks have been received by CBI. That's compared to about 7,000 in the same time period last year.

CBI says that the high volume demand has created a backlog of about 5,000 checks. The turnaround time is still expected to be well within the three-business-day period required by federal regulations.

According to CBI, the wait time for background checks for FFLs is approaching two days; before the spike in the last week, wait times ranged between five and eight minutes.