Funerals were held for three of the 12 Colorado shooting victims Saturday. Mourners packed churches remembering Matt McQuinn, who shielded his girlfriend, aspiring sportscaster Jessica Ghawi and navy intelligence officer John Larimer.
Eleven people remain hospitalized. Five victims remain in critical condition.
After the deadly day in Aurora, there are more people in the Valley seeking gun permits hoping to keep themselves safe.
Main instructor with Midwest Tactics, LLC Ensley "Tak" Windham says, "With the oil and all the new people coming into North Dakota and recent events in the news, whenever people get scared, there's always a rush."
Throughout the past 10 years Tak has been teaching courses, he has seen spikes in class numbers for a number of reasons. With the recent shooting, he says his classes have grown a little. Other instructors in the area say theirs have grown by 10 percent.
"A lot of people go out and they're like okay something happened, I'm gonna go out buy a gun," says Tak.
But carrying a gun is a serious matter. Tak explains, "You don't say OK hey I want to be a big bad guy, stuff like that. Nobody should know you have a weapon."
When talking about weapons, safety always comes first. "The people that actually wanna carry for defense, I try to see what their reasoning is behind it and that gauges. I have kicked people out of my classroom before," says Tak.
He says if you do get a permit simply buying it, sticking it on the shelf and thinking you are ready to use it at any time does not work as your skills are perishable. You need to train as the police do.
Tak says, "You have emergency procedures in place at your job if something happens. Why not have one for your life."
It is his job to make sure you have situational awareness and know the limitations of your weapons before you get in a tough spot. Because once you pull the trigger, there is no going back.
The classes to get a permit vary by state. In North Dakota two options include a 50 question open book test and an eight hour course with a test and live firing portion.
In Minnesota it is usually a six to seven hour course with a live firing session.
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