Ed Santos landed in North Idaho via staying late for a movie.

Eight years before he retired from the Army, the owner of Center Target Sports, an indoor shooting range and gun shop in Post Falls, stayed for the credits of the movie featuring Steve Martin called "Roxanne."

Santos noticed the movie was filmed in Nelson, B.C., and he was intrigued by the old homes in the film. On his way to Nelson, Santos and his wife, Peggy, stayed at a time share at the Stoneridge golf course in Blanchard.

"Within the first three days, we absolutely knew that this is where we wanted to retire," Santos said. "And we later learned that most of the homes in the movie are in Vancouver anyway.

"This is where we were meant to be, and we've never looked back."

Santos built his business across from Walmart in 2004. It offers safety and firearm training to residents, law enforcement and other groups. He has written several articles and a book called "Rule the night; Win the fight" on low-light gun fighting.

"I made a commitment early in my life to empower people to use their skills to make a better life for themselves by making them safer," he said.

Earlier this year his range received a five-star rating from the National Association of Shooting Ranges, becoming only the seventh indoor range in the country and the only one in the Northwest to earn the honor.

Ranges are rated on appearance, management, customer service, amenities, customer development and community relations.

In addition to offering safety courses, some of them for free, the business has hosted several fundraisers, including for the Post Falls chamber and a quarterly event for OASIS (Post Falls police's women's shelter).

Santos is also the chamber's chairman-elect and he has been invited to speak at seminars locally and across the world.

The business has been honored by Mayor Clay Larkin for being among the most involved in the community.

"This community is like the house we live in," Santos said. "We want it to be comfortable and safe. If good doesn't stand up against bad, evil wins. We just can't have that in our society."

What is your background?

I came from a strong, traditional Catholic family. My dad (Edward) was 100 percent Portuguese and my mom (Laura) was 100 percent French. I left my home in Fall River, Mass., when I was 16 and was one of the first people in the neighborhood to leave. If you go back today, kids are living in their parents' homes. I moved to Florida, where my sister, Theresa, lived, because I thought I knew it all at the time. My dad also expected me to step into the family contractor developer business, so I thought I could move away to do something else. My parents raised my sister and I to be very independent. My parents then followed me (to Florida). The military was the obvious next step. I joined the Army in Florida and spent 20 years in the military serving stateside, in Germany, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Central America. After the military, I needed a break from the gun world so I started a countertop business in Coeur d'Alene called Classic Carpentry. I did that for three years, then Telect, a communications company, offered me a job to work for their government sales. I did that for three years before the telecommunications crunch hit and I was laid off.

Is that when you considered opening Center Target Sports?

Peggy said not only no, but hell no when I thought about going back to Iraq for security detail because the money was unbelievable. She said, 'You used to tell me that you always wanted to open a shooting range, so why don't you do that?' That was the motive to open this facility. And I made the promise that if we decided to build in Post Falls, that I'd be active in the community.

How has the recession affected your business?

We see so many people struggling, but this has been a good period for our business. People are going out and exercising their Second Amendment right to purchase firearms. But what's way more important for me is that they take the time and effort to be trained with firearms. The training is what has made us successful. People can re-take any class they've completed for free. We're committed to training, and people appreciate that and see the value.

Besides gun safety, what training is offered?

For the people who don't want to carry a gun, we offer courses with pepper spray, for those who carry a cane and with key chains (kubaton). We've seen about a 30 percent increase in those classes over the past three years.

Do you think there's a correlation between an increase in firearm purchases and training and the recession in terms of people seeing a greater need to protect themselves from burglars or other threats?

Yes. Attendance in our concealed carry class is up 70 percent and, as an industry, we've seen a 70 percent increase in female shooters nationwide.

In your opinion, what is the biggest firearm issue today?

By far, nationwide, it's people who believe in the Second Amendment and people who do not see a need for society to be armed. Regardless of what side you're on, if you take the time to do the research, the numbers and statistics truly speak for themselves. An armed society is a safer society. That's not my opinion. That's factual.

What has your training experience around the world told you about this?

I teach at a national police convention in Chicago and have had students from Great Britain and Australia. They say they never experienced violent crimes among the citizenry until guns were taken away from the masses. When law-abiding citizens are able to carry with their Second Amendment rights, those areas have lower crime rates.

How serious do you think the Second Amendment is being threatened today?

There's always going to be people who want to take it away. But I think the American people have spoken since the last election. Had the people not gone out in never-seen-before numbers buying ammunition and firearms, Washington would have been much more aggressive toward gun control. We're still seeing shortages on some types of ammunition. Our gun sales about doubled after the election. But that doesn't mean that we drop our guard.

What do you think your knack is?

I've been teaching firearms since I was a teen and, while there are many instructors, there are few people who have the ability to interpret what a shooter is doing. I have that knack.

What are some generalities on gun safety that everyone should know?

Firearms are just a tool. There's also four basic rules that never go away with your experience. Assume all firearms are loaded; keep firearms pointed in a safe direction; keep your finger off the trigger until you're on target and decide to shoot; and always know your target and what's around and beyond.

What can people do to be safer?

More than any martial art skill or any gun skill, if we just raise our level of awareness with our surroundings, we'd be safer as a community. I see people all the time walking and talking on their cell phones or with their heads down. That person has a sign on their back that says, 'Victim.' Spend an extra two seconds to find a safe parking spot. Walk like you know where you're going. The other thing is to scream and yell. The first thing many people do when there's a surprise attack is hold their breath. Breathing allows you to function, and if you yell, you have to take a breath.

What are your future goals?

My goal is to be the sheriff of Kootenai County. I was a reserve deputy for Kootenai County for nine years and am now with Shoshone County. But right now Center Target is my focus. I'm not finished training the masses.