BOISE, Idaho — Two mass shootings in El Paso, TX and Dayton, OH happened over the weekend. Thirty-one people were killed and dozens more were injured in the shooting.
The tragic shootings are pushing some people to prepare for the worst.
Meridian and Boise gun training centers say their self-defense and concealed carry classes are growing in size in recent years.
"I know after this weekend as my members start to roll in for their sessions they are going to be like alright, I shop at Walmart quite a bit, if this were to happen what should I do," Eric Aitken, the training director at Forward Movement Training and Consulting, said.
Forward Movement Training and Consulting is a Boise-based self-defense center that offers a variety of gun safety classes.
Aitken always asks the people in his classes why they are there.
"A lot of it is protection for themselves and their families, protection for if they are caught up in an active shooter situation, what do we do," Aitken said.
He says more and more people in his class give the active shooter scenario as the reason for coming and has framed many of his classes around mass-shooting scenarios.
"So, we will talk about those options of maybe it’s not necessarily that time to pull that firearm out," Aitken said. "Maybe it’s one of those things where you take as many people with you to get out."
In Meridian, general manager of Indoor Independence Shooting Range Ryan Later says his firearm safety classes are getting bigger.
"Over the last month we have seen about a 100% growth in classes for self-defense and concealed carry here," Later said.
Later says one of the factors for his class growth is people wanting to know what to do in an active shooter situation too.
But regardless of the reason, Later believes all gun owners should have some sort of training on their weapon.
"Especially for self-defense situations, its highly recommended to get training in that area because not only are you trying to protect yourself but other people," he said. "Knowing how to use you gun safely and to conceal it safely is highly recommended."