Two days after the Oregon attack, the Associated Press opened a story with a familiar claim: “Few mass shootings in the U.S. end like the deadly attack on an Oregon elementary school: with an armed civilian opening fire on the gunman.” NPR noted: “how rarely an armed civilian ends an attack like this.”
The PBS Newshour had on an “expert,” James Densley, co-founder of the Violence Prevention Project. who claimed: “And this is the first time a civilian shot and stopped the attacker.”
But just since the beginning of 2025, there have been sixteen such defensive gun uses where police have made similar statements about armed civilians acting to save many lives. By contrast, there were five mass public shootings in the US and Puerto Rico over that same period (see list below).
KUOW, Seattle interviewed Eric Madfis, a criminal justice professor at the University of Washington Tacoma, in discussing the armed bystander’s intervention: “That’s pretty rare. We think of the idea of a good guy with a gun coming in and stopping things. That’s a rhetorical thing people say, but that actually doesn’t happen very often, so that’s quite interesting.”
In the past, there have been similar headlines that illustrate this framing: “Rare in US for an active shooter to be stopped by bystander” (Associated Press); “Rampage in Indiana a rare instance of armed civilian ending mass shooting” (Washington Post); and “After Indiana mall shooting, one hero but no lasting solution to gun violence” (New York Times).
The media won’t cover them, but there are lots of mass public shootings stopped by legally armed citizens. Lots of active shootings stopped.
Other examples of news media coverage.
| Outlet | Date | Relevant wording or treatment |
|---|---|---|
| NBC Bay Area | October 17 | The summary beneath its headline says: “President Donald Trump and others praised Giamanco, but such interventions remain rare.” (nbcbayarea.com) |
| The Boston Globe | October 17 | Reproduced AP’s opening and its subsequent assertion that comparable interventions remain rare. (The Boston Globe) |
| Winnipeg Free Press | October 17 | Published the report under Jim Vertuno’s AP byline, including the same rarity claim. (Winnipeg Free Press) |
| WCCO Radio / Audacy | October 17 | Published the AP report with the same opening, rarity assertion, and ALERRT figures. (audacy.com) |
2025 (4 incidents, per CPRC data through the full year)
There were four mass public shootings 2025.
January 27, Puerto Nuevo, Puerto Rico: Workplace shooting at a plumbing business in which an accountant killed four coworkers after a discussion, then died by suicide.
July 28, New York City (Park Avenue office building): Four killed (including an off-duty police officer working security).
July 29, Tiptonville, Tennessee: Four people (family members) killed in a rural area.
August 1, Anaconda, Montana: Four killed at a bar (The Owl Bar).
2026 Under the criteria of public shootings in which 4 or more people were murdered (excluding the shooter) and that were not connected to other crimes such as robbery or gang/drug activity, the only incident in 2026 so far is:
October 15, 2026, Bend, Oregon (Silver Rail Elementary School): A 16-year-old former student entered the school and killed three children (ages 5, 8, and 11) and one teacher before being shot and killed by an armed bystander who pursued him inside. Two others (a child and a teacher) were critically injured.Reuters (https://www.reuters.com/world/shooter-is-killed-oregon-elementary-school-least-two-taken-away-ambulance-2026-10-15/)
Other 2026 cases with multiple deaths do not meet the threshold. Examples include the Twin Falls, Idaho In-N-Out shooting (3 killed), a San Diego mosque shooting (3 killed), an Austin bar shooting (3 killed), and domestic/family killings in homes (such as in Erie, Pennsylvania, and Douglas, Georgia), which are excluded as non-public or involving private/family circumstances.
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