by Mary Margaret Olohan
Gun stocks have skyrocketed as protests and riots continue throughout the United States following the death of George Floyd.
Activists set cars ablaze, smashed property, and looted businesses across the country as rioters protested the death of Floyd, a black man who died after a Minneapolis, Minnesota, police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes, video of the incident shows. The police officer, Derek Chauvin, has been fired and charged on 3rd degree murder and manslaughter charges.
As the riots and protests continue, gun stocks have soared.
A number of ammunition and gun makers were trading sharply higher after the weekend of nationwide riots, including Sturm, Ruger & Co, ammunition maker Vista Outdoor, Gunmakers American Outdoor Brands, and the Taser stun gun maker, Axon Enterprise, Fox Business reported.
Investors factored in the possibility that violence may have already been propelling the gun sales, the publication reports.
A rise in gun sales had already begun during the coronavirus pandemic as Americans worried that states would deem gun stores nonessential. Data released by the Small Arms Analytics and Forecasting shows that April gun sales had risen 71% since last year to a total of almost 1.8 million gun sales.
This data follows a massive year-over-year increases in gun sales in March, at 85%, according to Fox Business.
Other companies, that provide security cameras and video transmission products that are used by law enforcement, also saw massive increases in stock value, according to Market Watch. Stock for Cemtrex, a technology company that owns the security camera business Vicon, more than tripled in value and rose 224% in trading.
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Mary Margaret Olohan is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
