Prairie State Wire

More than 3 million Americans underwent FBI background checks for gun purchases during the month of May, setting a record during a period of turmoil that included the COVID-19 pandemic and riots that broke out in the aftermath of the George Floyd police killing.

In all, more than 15 million federal background backgrounds checks have been recorded this year in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, easily marching toward the record-setting 28 million that were conducted just last year.

Overall, the 3,091,455 checks that were recorded last month represent the highest May number in the 22-year history of the system and the third-highest month on record. The highest number of checks in one month occurred in March, which recorded a record 3,740,688 checks.

As the coronavirus publicly emerged in March, gun sales rose to 2.6 million purchases, or an 85.3 percent increase over the previous year. In April, the U.S. recorded 1.7 million gun sales, or a more than a 70 percent increase from April 2019, according to Small Arms Analytics and Forecasting.

More recently, protests and riots have hit city streets across the country, as news of Floyd's death and the release of graphic video showing a white police officer kneeling on the neck of a black man for several minutes was made public. As the mayhem unfolded, footage emerged of business owners and other civilians in cities across the country protecting businesses from rioters and looters by standing guard outside their stores with firearms.