Gun sales across Washington have resumed following a weeks-long delay caused by a cyberattack on the state’s Judicial Information Systems earlier this month.
Officials confirmed that as of 1 p.m. Sunday, the firearm background check system, known as the Secure Automated Firearms E-Check (SAFE) system, is back online, allowing transactions to process once again.
The hack, which occurred on Nov. 2, forced several court networks and websites offline, including the system that oversees mandatory background checks for firearm sales and ownership.
During the outage, the Washington State Patrol (WSP) received an average of 700 background check requests daily, but none could be processed. Thousands of firearm sales were delayed, leaving buyers, sellers, and business owners frustrated.
“We’re still taking applications, but there’s no timeline we can give people,” said Melissa Denny, owner of Pistol Annie’s Jewelry and Pawn in Bonney Lake, during the outage. “We take the brunt of the frustration from customers who don’t understand the delays.”