(NewsNation) — Jewish Americans nationwide have expressed feelings of insecurity, leading them to seek personal protection as a necessary measure amid conflict in the Middle East.

Numerous gun store owners, including Russell Stuart, report contact from local synagogues, prompted by the Hamas terror attack and the killing of a Detroit synagogue leader.

“The Jewish community here feels like they’re going to become targets in their own homes and they might be the next victim,” said Stuart, who owns Beverly Hills Guns in California. “Jews are terrified.”

From California to Florida, firearm training and self-defense classes are being flooded by Jewish and Muslim Americans. Firearms instructors report a surge in new customers since Oct 7. Many attribute this to concerns beyond the Israeli conflict, including attacks on Jewish and Muslim communities in the U.S.

The FBI said threats against Jewish and Muslim Americans have increased since the war in Israel started.

The agency is investigating several threats, including the death of a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy who was stabbed to death in his Illinois home. Detectives said both the child and his mother, who was injured, were targeted because they were Muslim.

In response, some people are taking self-defense into their own hands.

“Never at this kind of uptick. Never at this kind of a rate where the phone is literally ringing off the hook noon and night. We have appointments for weeks now,” Stuart.

David Kowalski, a Jewish American and the owner of Florida Gun Store, said a lot of people who come into his store are first-time gun owners and they’d never considered owning a firearm before the war in Israel started.

“You go to sleep one night and everything is OK … doesn’t necessarily mean that’s the way it’s going to be in the morning,” Kowalski said. “Definitely been an uptick in terms of Jewish people and synagogues and Jewish schools being more hyper-focused on their security parameters and standards.”