While Dicken was praised for his courage and skill – squeezing off his first shot 15 seconds after the attack began, from a distance of 40 yards – much of the news coverage drew from FBI-approved statistics to assert that armed citizens almost never stop such attackers: “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).
Monday, August 15, 2022
Commentary: The Media Plays Along as FBI Undercounts Armed Citizen Responders to Mass Killers
The shooting that killed three people and injured another at a Greenwood, Indiana, mall on July 17 drew broad national attention because of how it ended – when 22-year-old Elisjsha Dicken, carrying a licensed handgun, fatally shot the attacker.
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The FBI got it right: if you stop a shooting it will not become a mass shooting.
ReplyDeleteA mass shooting once it is a mass shooting therefore has not been stopped. If it IS stopped it only was prevented from becoming a BIGGER mass shooting.
I'll wash out my mouth and my brain, my two typing fingers and my keyboard, and apologize for thinking like a lefty politician for three minutes.
😉😊😂😎😇
Well, the FBI never stops mass shooters, so armed citizens are still better than fibbies.
ReplyDeleteThis tells me that more citizens should carry "just in case", and then the stats might just look different, even for the lieing assed FBI....
ReplyDelete