Posted on 03/16/2025 9:00:24 PM PDT by JohnRLott
You’d never know it from watching television, but civilians stop more active shooters than police and do so with fewer mistakes, according to new research from the Crime Prevention Research Center, where I serve as president. In non-gun-free zones, where civilians are legally able to carry guns, concealed carry permit holders stopped 51.5% of active shootings, compared to 44.6% stopped by police, CPRC found in a deep dive into active shooter scenarios between 2014-2023.
Not only do permit holders succeed in stopping active shooters at a higher rate, but law enforcement officers face significantly greater risks when intervening. Our research found police were nearly six times more likely to be killed and 17% more likely to be wounded than armed civilians.
Those numbers paint a fuller picture than the FBI’s crime statistics, which fail to include many of the defensive gun uses my organization has cataloged. But the problem with the FBI’s crime statistics isn’t just the errors in their reported data — they also fail to address useful questions, like how concealed handgun permit holders compare to law enforcement. Kash Patel and Dan Bongino face a major challenge in reforming how the data is collected and reported at the FBI.
What We Found From 2014 to 2023, CPRC researchers found that armed civilians stopped 180 of 515 active shooting cases. Of the attacks in places where people were allowed to carry, we found that permit holders stopped 158 of the 307 instances. The FBI defines an “active shooting” as an event where an individual actively attempts to kill people in a public place — excluding shootings tied to robberies or gang violence. An “active shooting” could be as simple as a single shot fired at a lone human target, even if the shooter misses, to a mass shooting....
(Excerpt) Read more at crimeresearch.org ...
Who has to be an active shooter? Potential muggers only need to know someone might be packin’. The ‘victims’ of Bernie Goetz didn’t know that.
I would be afraid that the PoPo would shoot me if I intervened.
The number of CCwers is 20-23 million. The number of (non-federal) PoPo is about 1.2 million. So claiming that CCWers who outnumber beat police by 17-to-1 but only stop ~15% more shootings are "doing a better job" is a pretty twisted definition of the term.
Lott usually does a better job than this.
When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.
Maybe it’s because there are more of us gun toters per police in population density than cops. Not to put too fine a point on the subject. “When cops are minutes away, just draw and shoot the sonofvabitch. IMO
Exactly. Its a 100% rational fear.
Since 2018, there have been more justifiable homicides by private citizens than police
https://www.statista.com/statistics/251894/number-of-justifiable-homicides-in-the-us/
It’s a rational fear. You stop the bad guy, cops finally show up and shoot you. That’s why all of us who carry have to weigh what to do. That’s up to you, your conscience, and who you’re protecting. If they are robbing Walmart, I’d report it. I’ll be damned if I’m shooting it out in the parking lot over a toaster. If they are dropping people around me and my family or a friend, it’s game on. Mossad Ayoob has some great videos addressing this. If you carry much He’s the man. At the end of the day, the best gun fight you’re ever in is the one that never happened. You win all of them. Regards
https://wpde.com/news/local/911-calls-released-fatal-longs-shooting-weldon-boyd-north-myrtle-beach-business-owner-involved-highway-9-camp-swamp-road-september-9-2023-deadly-shootout-scott-spivery-south-carolina-april-23-2024#
bmk
Yep. Choose carefully, and reholster as soon as it is safe to do so. It is also always best to be the first to call 911 in a confrontation.
BTTT
But the police are Called to these situations where the CC guys are there by coincidence.
Everyone that I know that carries a hand gun ,practices regularly , and is always ready and willing, to engage.
When the Police show up, let them handle it.
Absolutely agree. Such a dumb and ridiculous article
Thank you for your years of tireless work in the interest of promoting and protecting 2A. I’m proud to have your books in my library.
The deterrent value of a brandished gun is underrated & rarely reported lest the person brandishing the gun, become the criminal.
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