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Philadelphia's gun violence. It is leading to a sharp increase

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in female gun owners, more women than men sought in, licensed

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to carry applications last year in the city. Some gun experts

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call it unprecedented Eyewitness News. Reporter Matt Petrillo

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has more now on this exclusive story.

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This group of women gun owners.

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Created a friendship after crossing paths here at Delaware Valley

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Sports Center in northeast Philly a few months ago. I don't know too

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many women personally who come to the gun range we met and all kind

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of hit it off really well. Magazine. The women called themselves

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Terry's Angels after their gun instructor, Terrence Lopez, who used

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to teach Philadelphia police officers to shoot. I've literally

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taught. Thousands on thousands of police officers police officers to

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shoot and now civilians, and now Terry's Angels are part of an

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increasing number of women. Lapela is seeing in his classes in recent

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years all right go.

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Many of his female clients say they're learning to shoot because of

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rising crime in the city carjackings murder it. It scared me and I've

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been living in Philadelphia. It's almost 64 years and I've never seen

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anything like this.

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That's why I. Carrying on Philadelphia said a grim new record for

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homicides in 2021, with more than 560 deaths and in that same year,

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the number of Philadelphia's licensed to carry applications surged to

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more than 70,000, much higher than in previous years. Eyewitness News

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also found more women made up those applications at just over 50%.

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Just wanting to be able to protect myself and my family, the surge

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comes as the new bill introduced into Congress would incentivize

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Americans to enroll in gun training. You should be able to just buy a

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gun without any type of training. There should be some type of

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training that goes along with it. And now these women plan to

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continue their learning. How to load your gun, how to shoot your gun,

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how to hold your gun, how to you know everything.

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In Northeast Philadelphia, Matt Petrillo CBS 3 Eyewitness News.