Pepper spray sales skyrocket amid crime spike: SABRE CEO

David Nance says 'concerned' young people have been buying pepper spray for themselves recently because of rising crime

David Nance, the CEO of personal safety company SABRE, said Tuesday pepper spray sales have been soaring amid the increase in crime in cities across the country. 

"The last two years were very significant to the point where we had trucks lining up to get our products because people were so concerned about their safety, and they came to us to provide them with a safety plan and products to increase the safety of themselves and their families," Nance told FOX Business’ Grady Trimble in a live interview on "Varney & Co."

SABRE, located in Missouri, about half an hour from St. Louis, supplies personal safety, home security, and law enforcement products to police departments across the country as well as retailers, including Walmart, Nance said.

SABRE Security Equipment Corporation is the world's largest pepper spray manufacturer, according to the company’s website. 

FBI DATA SHOWS LARGE INCREASE IN MURDERS IN 2020 NATIONWIDE

police light crime

Violent crimes have reached unprecedented numbers in the last two years, with murders increasing by nearly 30% in 2020 compared to 2019, according to FBI data.  (iStock)

While there are different rules and restrictions in different states pertaining to pepper spray, it is legal to use in all 50 states if used for self-defense purposes, Trimble reported on Tuesday. 

Violent crimes are on the rise in major cities across the country this year following 2020's already skyrocketing national murder spike that bled into the following year. 

In May, Fox News Digital examined crime data from Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, Seattle and Washington, D.C., and found violent crimes have increased anywhere from nearly 5% to up to 40% compared to the same time frame in 2021. Violent crimes are typically defined as reports of rape, sexual assault, robbery, assault and murder.

Violent crimes have reached unprecedented numbers in the last two years, with murders increasing by nearly 30% in 2020 compared to 2019, according to FBI data. 

By 2021, homicides continued to rise in major American cities across the country, with the Council on Criminal Justice releasing data in January showing a 5% increase in homicides compared to 2020’s wildly bloody year.

Nance noted that those typically buying pepper spray are "protectors, which are parents of people that are college students up to people in their 40s," who are "concerned about the safety of their loved ones when they are off in school or they move to a new city." 

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"Now you are seeing all those younger people buying them for themselves because they are concerned," he added. 

Nance then pointed to a recent study, which showed 75% of Americans between the ages of 25 and 34 feel like they are in imminent danger at least once a day.

Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.