Concealed Carry Citizen Shuts Down Crazed Gunman Who Opened Fire at Children's Event
Anti-Second Amendment voices often act as if “good guys with guns” are a complete myth … but conveniently ignore cases where legally armed citizens save lives.
That’s exactly what just happened in Florida. After a criminal began shooting in a crowded public park that was hosting a children’s back-to-school event, a bystander with a concealed carry permit sprang into action and stopped the attacker.
According to WFTV, the incident occurred in Titusville on Saturday. During a gathering organized for area families, a fist fight apparently broke out. One of the people involved in that clash returned a short time later with a gun and began firing.
Ironically, the event was called “Peace in the City,” and a flyer promoting the park gathering billed it as “a day of fun, no violence!”
It looks like posters asking for “no violence” do little to stop criminals. What did stop the shooter, however, was a lawfully armed citizen.
After the shooting began, a bystander — who has not been named — drew his concealed weapon and shot the attacker, sending him to the hospital in serious condition.
“The bystander who shot the suspect waited for officers and has been fully cooperative with the investigation,” reported WFTV, citing local police.
“We are extremely grateful that nobody else was injured in this incident,” said Deputy Chief Todd Hutchinson. “This suspect opened fire at a crowded public park, this could have been so much worse.”
A man who was streaming the event live on Facebook caught one perspective of the shooting, and showed children and parents looking at school supplies on park tables when the terrifying sound of gunfire began.
Authorities said that the armed citizen acted within the law, and no charges are expected to be filed in relation to the gunman’s shooting. If the attacker survives his wounds, he will likely face serious charges.
It’s hard to say exactly what would have happened if a citizen was not prepared and willing to stop this threat. Considering the crowded park was filled with young children and their parents, the incident could have taken a much more tragic turn had the bystander not intervened.
Contrary to the all-guns-are-bad narrative frequently spread by the media, firearms are used for lawful defensive purposes fairly often.
For example, one study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control found that close to 2.5 million Americans used a gun for self defense over a two-year period.
“Guns were used defensively by victims about 3.6 times as often as they were used offensively by criminals,” criminology professor Gary Kleck summarized about that study.
That study was from the 1990s.
A more recent study showed armed citizens are also able to thwart mass shootings with surprising success.
“A recent investigation by the FBI in April showed that, in numerous incidents involving active shooters, there were people who stopped them by use of a weapon,” Conservative Tribune reported in May.
“Armed and unarmed citizens engaged the shooter in 10 (mass shooting) incidents. They safely and successfully ended the shootings in eight of those incidents,” read the FBI report, which covered a fairly short time period. “Their selfless actions likely saved many lives.”
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