WELLINGTON, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Local residents have been expressing disapproval as a new megastore of one of New Zealand's major gun outlets Gun City will open next month on one of the busiest roads in Christchurch, opposite a residential area.
As the painful memory of the March 15 Christchurch mosque terrorist attacks is still lingering in people's mind, the timing of opening the new store is "insensitive", a local resident said.
However, Gun City owner David Tipple said it was wrong to blame guns for the mass shooting that killed at least 51 people in New Zealand's deadliest terrorist attacks. The gunman bought at least four of his guns and ammunition from Gun City before the shooting.
Tipple told local media that planning to open the new store began two-and-a-half years ago and the construction of the building for the store started at that time.
Local residents have complained about the store's proximity to residential areas, which will put locals' mental health at risk.
The store's location is not far from the first national gun buyback event held by the police last weekend, which saw hundreds of illegal weapons, based on the newly-revised gun law, handed in by the public during the six-month amnesty period.
