Topeka ? A record number of people applied to carry concealed weapons in Kansas during the last fiscal year.

Attorney General Derek Schmidt says more than 12,408 people sought a Kansas license to carry a concealed firearm during the fiscal year that ended June 30.

The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that’s a 24 percent increase over the approximately 9,400 applicants for concealed weapons in fiscal year 2011. The concealed carry program in Kansas began in 2006.

The attorney general also says the number of first-time permit applications his agency received averaged 49 each work day and didn’t’ include applications for renewal of existing permits.

There are more than 44,000 existing concealed weapons permits that have been issued in Kansas.