Background checks spiked after Sandy Hook shooting, says FBI director – The director of the FBI told lawmakers that the number of requested background checks for gun purchases has increased dramatically since the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School and could be severely impacted by sequester budget cuts.  Director Robert Mueller told a House Appropriations panel on Tuesday that background check requests from licensed gun dealers has risen from an average of 54,000 each day to a current level of 81,000 every day since the Connecticut shooting, which killed 20 children and six adults.