EL CAJON, California — Customers packed Cory Gautereaux’s small gun store northeast of San Diego on a recent Friday afternoon.
Many of the people buying pistols at Firearms Unlimited California said they were concerned about the massive number of migrants being released onto the local streets after the area became a hub for the crisis at the border — which is just 25 miles from El Cajon, a Southern California suburb of 105,000 people.
“My wife and I have had home defense guns for many years. Recently though with all the stuff that’s happening south of the border and all the people coming over, my concerns have broadened,” said Keith Carnevale, one of the shop’s customers who’s armed his entire family.
“I don’t think it’s just the people that are coming over to try to find work, I think we have a lot of hostile people that are coming over with ill will, ill intent that will potentially cause chaos.”
Roughly 125,000 migrants have been released onto streets in the San Diego area since September, which has been unsettling for Firearms Unlimited California owner Cory Gautereaux and his customers.
After Texas worked to seal off large swaths of its border with Mexico with razor wire and boots on the ground, more migrants started making their way to California.
