WASHINGTON — Black Friday broke an FBI record for the number of firearms background checks.

The agency said this week that it processed 185,345 background checks — roughly two per second — on the same day that three people were killed and nine wounded in an attack at a Planned Parenthood office in Colorado.

The FBI received about 5 percent fewer background check requests on Black Friday in 2014, the agency said.

FBI background checks processed by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System are conducted for gun purchases from federally licensed deals and for permits to carry guns. A background check does not mean a gun was purchased, but manufacturers rely on the background check statistics as a measurement of the industry’s health.

The FBI started processing background checks for potential gun owners in 1998 as part of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act.

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