King County has seen an increase in concealed pistol license applications and gun purchases, according to the King County Sheriff’s Office.

According to Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Sgt. Cindi West, 41 applications were filed on Monday, July 23, which is double the number at roughly the same time last year, when 19 applications were filed.

West also stated that the average Friday and Monday sees about 30 and 90 gun sales reports respectively.

On Friday, July 20 and Monday, July 23, 40 and 115 gun sales respectively were reported.

There is a five day waiting period handgun purchases in Washington.

In an email, West wrote that it is not known for certain what has caused this increase, though she stated that there are several possibilities, including the recent shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado.

“I have been told that the numbers typically rise just prior to a presidential election and when there is some major incident similar to that of the Colorado shooting,” she wrote. “Again. We have no specific data that indicates these ARE the reasons but it appears to be a common trend when the numbers increase.”