CPRC: Armed Citizen Responders Stopped Active Shooters 40% of the Time in Gun-Friendly Zones By: S.H. Blannelberry

0
133

In most cases, the mainstream national media doesn’t cover local stories in which good guys with guns stop bad guns with guns. 

Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to follow and signup for notifications!

However, when 22-year-old Elisjsha Dicken engaged an active shooter at the Greenwood Park Mall in Greenwood, Indiana, last month the story was arguably too big to ignore, especially in the wake of the back-to-back tragedies in May at a school in Uvalde, Texas, and at a supermarket in Buffalo, NY.  

Dicken unquestionably saved countless lives that day and was universally hailed as a “hero.” 

“The real hero of the day is the citizen who was lawfully carrying a firearm in that food court and was able to stop the shooter almost as soon as he began,” Greenwood Police Chief Jim Ison said in a press conference following the incident.  

Dicken took out the threat from 40 yards away with a Glock 9mm handgun 15 seconds after the perp opened fire.  He landed 8 of 10 rounds on target and did not wound any bystanders in the process.   

Impressive.  Very impressive, which made it even harder for national media to dismiss it. 

This is how the AP covered it. (Photo: AP News)

So, while they covered the story, they were also very quick to pivot to the talking point that armed citizen responders rarely stop active shooters. 

As CNN wrote, “Making Dicken’s heroism perhaps even more remarkable is the fact cases of an armed bystander attacking an active shooter are rare..” 

“The Greenwood incident is unique, however, because it became one of the rare instances of an armed civilian successfully intervening to end a mass shooting,” wrote The Washington Post

Many outlets pointed to FBI statistics to substantiate their claim about the rarity of defensive gun uses (DGUs) in the context of an active shooter scenario. 

But the work of economist Dr. John Lott Jr., who runs the nonprofit Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC), challenges the FBI data and argues that it happens more often than the agency alleges. 

As Lott observed in a recent article published by RealClear Investigations (emphasis added):

The Bureau reports that only 11 of the 252 active shooter incidents it identified for the period 2014-2021 were stopped by an armed citizen. An analysis by my organization identified a total of 281 active shooter incidents during that same period and found that 41 of them were stopped by an armed citizen.  That is, the FBI reported that 4.4% of active shooter incidents were thwarted by armed citizens, while the CPRC found 14.6%. 

Lott goes on to explain why he thinks the FBI is underreporting the numbers:

Two factors explain this discrepancy – one, misclassified shootings; and two, overlooked incidents. Regarding the former, the CPRC determined that the FBI reports had misclassified five shootings: In two incidents the Bureau notes in its detailed write-up that citizens possessing valid firearms permits confronted the shooters and caused them to flee the scene. However, these cases were not listed as being stopped by armed citizens because the attackers were later apprehended by police. In two other incidents the FBI misidentified armed civilians as armed security personnel. In one incident, the FBI simply failed to mention the citizen engagement at all.

There’s another component to this discussion.  That is, the number of attacks stopped in gun-friendly zones versus gun-free zones.  

See, part of the reason why there aren’t more examples to point to is that the vast majority of attacks (more than 96%) happen in places where law-abiding citizens are prohibited from carrying concealed for self defense.  

(Photo: CPRC)

“In areas where people legally carrying guns are allowed, at least 40% of active shooting attacks are stopped,” Lott said in a separate CPRC Newsletter about the FBI numbers.  Again, that was the time period between 2014-2021.

Imagine what that percentage could be if we eliminated all gun-free zones! And really that’s the point. Effective engagement from responsible concealed carriers doesn’t have to be a “rare” occurrence. We can create an environment where it is rather commonplace, vis a vis Israel.

To get this done, lawmakers and the mainstream media need to understand (1) how critically important it is to empower law-abiding individuals to take responsibility for their personal safety and (2) that gun-free zones not only don’t work but are attractive destinations for determined killers.

Because, at the end of the day, citizen responders are first responders. As Lott’s data show, it definitely makes a material difference when they’re permitted to carry firearms and encouraged to take action. No doubt lives are saved.