Dr. John Lott has a new piece at Fox News that starts this way:
Thankfully, a heroic citizen with a permit to legally carry a concealed handgun was able to save countless lives in Florida Saturday when he shot a gunman who opened fire on a back-to-school event attended by over 150 students at a park in Titusville, Florida.
The media rarely give national news coverage to incidents like this, but responsible gun owners have stepped forward in this way many times before to save lives. In fact, concealed handgun permit holders have prevented dozens of mass public shootings just in recent years, while receiving only brief mentions in local news coverage.
Fortunately, only the attacker was injured in Titusville. The gun permit holder shot him in the head to keep the attacker from shooting any children and adults in the park. Neither the permit holder nor the attacker have been identified so far by police. The attacker suffered life-threatening injuries and remains hospitalized.
The presence of an armed “good guy” prevented the Titusville shooting from turning into a tragedy like school shooting in Parkland, Florida in February.
“Based on the information that we’ve gathered,” said Titusville Police Sgt. William Amos, “this person stepped in and saved a lot of people’s lives.”
The police responded within minutes, but the gun permit holder was right there the moment the attack started, enabling him to stop the attacker almost immediately. Law enforcement officers cannot be everywhere, so the presence of armed citizens is vital to provide an instant response to attackers.
With over 1.7 million concealed handgun permit holders, Florida sees more than its share of defensive gun uses.
Late last November, an employee with a concealed handgun permit stopped a mass public shooting at an auto repair shop in Rockledge, Florida.
The attacker, armed with a .45-caliber handgun and multiple magazines, killed one person and severely wounded another in the repair shop’s parking lot. The local television station quoted the police saying that the attack “could have been even worse” if not for the “good Samaritan.”
“This business was packed today with customers and employees,” noted Karen Parks, a reporter at the scene.
In one interesting case in June, police say 36-year-old Christopher Raymond Hill robbed a Jacksonville Walmart and then tried to carjack someone’s car at knifepoint, slashing the man on his arms and legs.
Fortunately, the driver had his permitted concealed handgun with him, and Hill tried carjack another vehicle, according to police. But that driver also had her gun. Hill then gave up, and hid in the restroom of a nearby store until police arrived, authorities said.
Similarly, in another state in late May, two gun permit holders stopped an attack at a restaurant in Oklahoma City. Juan Carolos Nazario fired the fatal shots at the shooter.
“I just did what I had to do. I’m very glad no innocent lives were taken but ultimately, there was a life taken,” Nazario said. USA Today credited him with “a restaurant full of innocent lives potentially saved.”
PoliceOne sometimes surveys its 450,000 members – 380,000 active-duty and 70,000 retired law enforcement officers. . . .
The rest of the piece is available here.
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