Daniel Protection, the corporate that made the rifle a gunman used to kill 21 individuals inside a Texas elementary faculty this week, was certainly one of tons of of gun makers and retailers that obtained emergency small-business support from the federal authorities by the Paycheck Safety Program.
The corporate, based mostly in Ellabell, Ga., obtained a $3.1 million mortgage in early April 2020 — simply days after the reduction fund opened, when many corporations had been struggling to interrupt by a crush of functions because the pandemic started.
The mortgage, made by Cadence Financial institution, was used to help some 200 staff, in accordance with authorities data. Daniel Protection met this system’s necessities to have its mortgage forgiven, and it was paid off by the federal government in June 2021.
A Daniel Protection rifle was used within the assault on Robb Elementary Faculty in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday, in accordance with a state police briefing obtained by State Senator John Whitmire of Houston. Nineteen kids and two adults had been killed on the faculty, and a number of other different kids had been wounded. The 18-year-old gunman additionally wounded his grandmother earlier than attacking the varsity.
“We’re deeply saddened by the tragic occasions in Texas this week,” the corporate wrote in a statement posted on its website. “We’ll cooperate with all federal, state and native legislation enforcement authorities of their investigations.”
Firm representatives didn’t instantly reply to questions in regards to the Paycheck Safety Program mortgage. The Small Enterprise Administration, which oversaw this system, declined to remark, citing company coverage “spanning a number of earlier administrations” to not touch upon particular person debtors.
Requested in regards to the mortgage on the White Home press briefing on Thursday, Karine Jean-Pierre, the White Home press secretary, stated it was the primary she was listening to in regards to the mortgage and that she would look into it.
Just about each small enterprise in America — typically outlined by the federal government as these with fewer than 500 staff — certified for assist by the Paycheck Safety Program, which required candidates merely to certify that the “financial uncertainty” attributable to the pandemic made it vital for them to hunt assist from the federal government fund.
Daniel Protection is a privately held firm, so it doesn’t publicly report its gross sales, however authorities knowledge exhibits that it made considerably extra weapons in 2020, after the pandemic took maintain, in contrast with a yr earlier. The corporate made more than 51,000 firearms in 2020, and fewer than 32,000 in 2019, in accordance with knowledge from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Almost 500 gun and ammunition makers and retailers obtained federal help by the $800 billion reduction program. The business collectively took in loans totaling $125 million, in accordance with a New York Instances evaluation of government data.
Twenty-three producers, together with Daniel Protection, obtained loans of $1 million or extra. The most important, for $10 million — the utmost mortgage obtainable by the reduction fund — went to RemArms, a Georgia firm that acquired property and a producing facility from Remington after it filed for chapter.
