February gun background checks top 2 million

(CNN) -- FBI gun background checks topped two million in February for the fourth straight month.

The FBI performed 2,309,393 checks last month. That's the third highest month on record since the National Instant Criminal Background Check System began in late 1998.

The numbers do not reveal how many guns were purchased because some buyers could have purchased more than one gun.

According to the FBI, more than 20-thousand background checks so far this year have resulted in gun purchase rejections.

There has been increased demand for firearms after tragedies like the December Connecticut school shooting.