You beat me to it. My point exactly. A responsible, armed citizen in the crowd could have saved many lives and injuries.
I remember an incident in an Israeli supermarket a few years ago. Shooter was taken out by a young woman who was armed.
That’s right. Wonder if any will be carrying to tonight’s Batman.
bravo
I am liking the Israeli security model of having armed good guys at public venue
Actually, the Theater Chain has a policy prohibiting concealed carry. Clearly, the suspect failed to read the notice.
Perp apparently thought of that ... he deployed tear gas, presumably to reduce the effectiveness of defensive gunfire.
Ditto, but with some skill to make it happen.
Concealed carry permits are relatively easy to obtain in Colorado. I suspect there were several people in the theater who were carrying concealed, but they didn't or couldn't stop it. Theaters tend to be pretty large and unless the person carrying concealed just happens to be sitting near the perp, there's a really good chance that concealed carry would not have made a difference and could have made things a lot worse in a dark, crowded, chaotic theater.
Let's be honest: Not all people who carry concealed are created equal. In the absence of military combat training or police SWAT training, the average person carrying concealed lacks the training to assess and react quickly to a surprise attack in a dark crowded theater without putting even more people at risk. I carry every place I'm legally allowed to carry. I go to the range several times a month and I'm very skilled with what I carry. If someone were to try to rob me in my office or a parking lot late at night or break into my house when I am home, I'm pretty sure tht one of us would end up dead and it wouldn't be me. As much as I would like to think that I could have stopped this guy if I were at the theater in Aurora, the reality is that me and my .357 wheel gun would not have made a difference unless I just happened to be sitting within a few yards of this guy and I was quick enough to assess and react to the surprise attack before chaos broke out and other people blocked my line of fire. Perhaps the answer is to require every able, law-abiding citizen over the age of 18 to take a tactical firearm training course (or pay a tax if they don't) so that we're more preapred for situations like this.