The Region - News from Oct. 30, 1985

Thousands of handguns and other weapons have been purchased by Southern California homeowners this year since publicity over the so-called Night Stalker murders, according to a survey conducted for TV station KNBC. After contacting 400 residents in five counties, Frank Magid & Associates reported that about 35% of the homes have legal guns. Although it was unknown exactly how many were bought since the rash of walk-in killings, a KNBC spokeswoman said gunshop owners estimated that the figure was in the thousands. The highest percentage of gun owners was in Ventura County, where almost half of those surveyed own them. The lowest was in the city of Los Angeles, where only 18% own guns, according to the survey.