Grand Junction, Colo. – The record was broken on the number of gun and firearms background checks made in a single day by potential gun buyers in Colorado state.

Following one of the worst massacres in United States history, where a lone gunman killed 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., was a sudden rush to gun stores as well as background check requests.

Staff at Sportsman’s Warehouse on Monday have reported more than a thousand pending background check requests and a backlog of almost 24 hours. These types of check involving firearms, usually only take a few minutes, but the sheer number of requests has caused some to be delayed.

According to Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials, the sudden surge after the shooting was indeed a surprise and their office was not equipped to deal with the demands during the weekend. This has caused potential gun buyers to wait for long periods of time to get their background check results.

Twice during the day, the system shut down – once for 18 minutes and again for 14 minutes.

On Sunday, President Barack Obama vowed to use “whatever power this office holds” in efforts to prevent another mass shooting in the U.S.

According to CBI data, last year 245,475 firearm applications were approved out of the 251,307 submitted. The approval figure doesn’t provide the scope of gun sales, as a buyer can get multiple guns with a single background check and the state doesn’t track gun purchases.