ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Security companies in Upstate New York are seeing an increase in calls since the mass shooting at a Buffalo Tops supermarket this past weekend. More businesses are looking into hiring security guards.

“There’s a renewed feeling of making sure that they're on top of everything,” said the president of C.O.P. Security, Jack Barton. “They're aware. Awareness is everything when it comes to security.”

The grocery store where a gunman opened fire on Saturday in Buffalo had an armed security guard on duty.

[It’s] tragic,” Barton said. “It’s just unbelievable that that could happen.”

His company provides armed and unarmed guards to customers. One of those customers is a school in Greece. The guard there has been with the company for several years – working at various venues, and festivals.

 “I think that you'll find that in most cases, presence, is probably 90 to 95% of a security officer’s job,” Barton said. “But there is that 5% action is needed or reaction.”

The security guard at the Tops store in Buffalo reacted. Aaron Salter is being hailed as a hero – he fired his weapon and hit the suspect. But Salter ended up becoming one of the 10 people killed in the mass shooting.

“I know that he made every attempt and unfortunately the shooter had a vest on the shooter was protected,” Barton said. “So unfortunately he perished along with the nine others.”

 Since the incident, his security company and others are seeing an uptick in requests for armed guards.

 “I would expect all the companies around this area anyways are probably getting more calls.”

 Barton says, the armed guards with C.O.P. Security have the option of wearing protective vests.

“It's just a matter of making sure that you're on top of your game, if you will,” he said. “You’ve got to stay alert [and] stay vigilant. You never know. You never know what’s going to walk in, what’s going to set someone off.”