More gun owners are taking gun safety training classes

According to the Global Terrorism Database, 3,521 Americans have died from terror attacks in the United States since 1970.

Gun violence, on the other hand, has killed 8,512 people in 2015 so far, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

Recent break-ins in Eastern Idaho, along with the terror attacks in Paris, have prompted more people to be on edge said Chad Russell, Firearm instructor of Half-Cocked Academy.

Russell says he has recently had more students in his classes.

He also said a woman called him concerned about the terror attacks in Paris and the local violent home invasions, and wanted to know if he thought it would be a good idea to get a gun.

“Really what people need to do is to settle down and really take inventory of the situation around them and what’s really going on.,” Russell, said “I understand there’s a lot of fear and a lot of uncertainty with the Syrian refugee crisis and all that.”

He also said without training it could be very dangerous using a gun.

“Just like any tool, people need to be trained and responsible in use of them so that they minimize any risk of harming themselves or others or property,” Russell said. “It’s better to have the knowledge and not use it than need the knowledge and not have it.”