This is a revised, updated version of a post originally written on April 21, 2015.
Columnist Eugene Volokh wrote in the Washington Post on April 20, 2015: “Have civilians with permitted concealed handguns stopped such mass shootings before?” We provided Volokh with a list of such cases, which he used.
Below, we have collected news stories on more cases of permit holders stopping mass public shootings with their handguns (we separately collect cases where concealed handguns are used to stop other crimes). …
Concealed Handguns Stopped Mass Public Shooting, CPRC original research, mass public shootings
Having murdered two people and wounded a couple of others, it is clear that the attacker intended to kill as many people as possible. The quick response by people with concealed handgun permits stopped the attack.
…A person entered a gun store and shooting range in a New Orleans suburb and fatally shot two people Saturday, prompting customers and staff to open fire on the shooter, a sheriff said.
Concealed Handguns Stopped Mass Public Shooting, Defensive Gun Use, mass public shootings
Here is another example where police have said that if it wasn’t for the presence of a legal concealed handgun permit holder many others could have been killed. Fortunately, one of the people wounded in the shooting had a permitted concealed handgun and was able to then get out of his car and shoot the attacker.…
Concealed Handguns Stopped Mass Public Shooting, CPRC original research, Defensive Gun Use, mass public shootings
While one would think that the most important part of this story was that a man who was standing in the road was firing a gun at vehicles, many news articles on this event focused on the shooter just pointing his gun at people or firing his gun into the air.…
Concealed Handguns Stopped Mass Public Shooting, Defensive Gun Use, mass public shootings
A dramatic shooting was stopped on Friday night, March 27th, 2020 at a shopping center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This attack fits definition of what could have been a mass public shooting: a shooting in pubic that did not involve some other type of crime. Without the permit holder there to stop the attack, it could have resulted in multiple deaths.…
Concealed Handguns Stopped Mass Public Shooting, mass public shootings
“We lost two great men today, but it could have been a lot worse,” the church’s Senior Minister Britt Farmer claimed on Sunday. “I’m thankful our government has allowed us the opportunity to protect ourselves.”
“The citizens who were inside that church undoubtedly saved 242 other parishioners, and that might get swept aside,” Texas DPS Director Jeoff Williams said.…
Concealed Handguns Stopped Mass Public Shooting, Defensive Gun Use
Finally, when one of these attacks are stopped by someone legally carrying a gun, the media is giving it some notice.
From USA Today (though it is buried in the story): “Aaron Helton, an Army veteran, said he was at the Walmart around 9:45 a.m. when he heard nine shots and saw the gunman, weapon in hand.…
Concealed Handguns Stopped Mass Public Shooting, mass public shootings
Newnan, Georgia, August 13, 2018
This is an amazing story that was caught on video. An employee who wasn’t even scheduled to work that day, but was simply hanging around the bar outside in the parking lot, stopped an attack that the police say would have likely resulted in multiple deaths.…
Concealed Handguns Stopped Mass Public Shooting, Defensive Gun Use
UPDATE: The original news reports suggested that a Muslim at the Mosque had run home (presumably very nearby) to get his gun to stop the attack. Well, new reports suggest something quite different happened. There are basic inconsistencies between the two reports.
The original reports suggest that the Muslim was able to fire the gun at the attacker, but the other articles suggest that he took the gun from the shooter and didn’t know how to fire it.…
Concealed Handguns Stopped Mass Public Shooting, International Mass Public Shootings, mass public shootings, New Zealand
…“He’s my hero,” he said. “Because I can only imagine how it would’ve went if he wasn’t armed. We might not be here having this interview.” . . .
He said he heard more than 15 shots fired. . . .
— Markus Washington to WAFF Channel 48 News
Concealed Handguns Stopped Mass Public Shooting, Defensive Gun Use
