Seven people have been killed due to shootings since 1990, reports RÚV.
77,000 firearms have been sold in Iceland and 48,000 shotguns are registered in the country. There have been 154 calls to arms by the special unit of the National Commissioner of Police this year, this is the highest it has been.
“We don’t necessarily see an increase in the number of cases where firearms are used in a situation,” says field manager at the National Commissioner of the Icelandic police, Rannveig Þórisdóttir. “Instead, they are taken into a situation and are not necessarily used, but they are there.”
Of the 47,553 shotguns registered in the country, all but 200 are registered for sport shooting or hunting. There is approximately one shotgun for every six Icelanders (over 18).
“We’ve seen an increase in the last few years,” says Rannveig. “There has been an increase in interest, including in shooting sports.”
The 20 people who own the most guns in Iceland own a total of 2,052 firearms, averaging each person owning 103 guns each.
“There are checks at the homes of individuals who own firearms to see if they are following the rules on gun safety,” says Rannveig. “We try to monitor violations as closely as possible, and it is of course the case that people are deprived of firearms licenses temporarily and even permanently if they commit violations.”
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