There is a constant argument being had across this country. Do good guys with guns stop bad guys with guns? Statistics show that they often do. The recent incident at an Indianapolis-area mall has put the spotlight back on this question. Many in the mainstream media argue that it rarely happens. According to statistics provided by the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training group out of Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas, there were 464 active shooter situations between 2000 and 2021.
They say that in only 24 of those situations was the attack ended by an armed civilian eliminating the threat with their own firearm. The mainstream media and gun-grabber activist groups latch onto this single figure to say that a good guy with a gun stopping a bad guy with a gun is rare. In fact, over the past 22 years, they have only stopped 5% of all mass-casualty shootings. And they are technically correct. But they are only telling half the story. Here is where ALERRT's information reveals a lot that the mainstream media will never share.
It simply just doesn't fit the narrative. Of those 464 attacks over a 21-year period, 266 times the attack stops prior to law enforcement arriving on scene. Let us repeat that. 266 of the 464 active shooter events between 2000 and 2021 ended before police arrived to engage. That equates to 57% of the time. Of that percentage, 193 endings are coordinated by the attackers themselves. They either leave the scene or they self-eliminate. That leaves 73 instances where active shooters were stopped by civilians. In 24 instances, they shot the attacker, as we witnessed with the recent shooting in Indiana.
In 49 other instances, by-standers subdued the suspect and held them until police arrived. So, let's focus on that math for just a second. That means that civilian interaction accounted for 16% of the stoppages. Of the 266 occurrences of an active shooter ending before police presence, 146 ended either by civilian intervention or suicide. That is 55% of the time. All of that is what has happened before police get there. So, in the face of the narrative that the mainstream media is attempting to spin, we found examples of where the good guy did stop the bad guy.
We encountered a list compiled of incidents occurring between 2019 and the present; 354 times that a legally armed civilian stopped the bad guy(s). Technically, that number is 355, but the Indiana attack had not yet been accounted for. Admittedly, this list is not comprised of only active shooter scenarios. 354 examples in just the previous 2 years, 7 months, and 21 days. Compared to 466 over 21+ years. It kind of changes the argument. But the fact that it identifies other criminal activity speaks to an even greater problem with the national media.
They do not view armed violent crime as newsworthy. The only type of gun crimes that matters to them is when a white male opens fire in a crowded place with an AR-15. Why? Because it helps them spin their lies surrounding white supremacy and their attack on the 2nd Amendment. The question that must be asked with the stories listed: How many of these scenarios would have been labeled a mass shooting had an armed civilian not acted to stop it? Here are snippets from a few of these stories that we carried on LET, that didn't make the list we linked above. White Settlement, TX - In December 2019, Jack Wilson, a firearms instructor, fatally shot Kinnunen after he shot and killed 67-year-old Richard White, a security volunteer of the church, and 64-year-old Anton “Tony” Wallace, a server of the church. After he shot at the two men, the gunman headed towards the front of the sanctuary. Wilson searched for a clear line of fire and shot a single bullet that ended the attack. According to prosecutors, there were about 260 people in the church during the time of the attack.
Kalispell, MT - According to reports, the incident occurred in the parking lot of the Fuel Fitness center at 1305 Highway 2 West at about 10:52 a.m. on September 16th [2021]. The incident started off after 27-year-old Fuel Fitness manager Matthew David Hurley, along with his assistant manager Matthew Underhill, approached a vagrant sleeping in the rear parking lot to discuss a refund over an unused membership.
Apparently, the discussion became heated, as the vagrant was reportedly demanding more money than was being offered by the two regarding this refund. When both Hurley and Underhill informed the vagrant that he wasn’t going to be offered any more money, the vagrant allegedly said they were “going to die today.” The suspect opened fire on the two employees, fatally shooting Hurley while Underhill was able to reach cover. While this was going on, William Keck – a member of the fitness center – was going out to his car to retrieve his wallet.
However, when Keck stepped outside, he heard the gunfire and another gym employee informed him that Hurley had been shot. Keck then ran out to his vehicle to retrieve his firearm and told the vagrant to stop shooting – but instead, the suspect then allegedly turned his attention toward Keck and fired at him. Keck returned fire, striking the vagrant. But what we detailed in those stories is not what the mainstream media focused on. Do a quick Google search of "CNN White Settlement." The first hit is a piece headlined: How White Settlement, the site of the deadly church shooting, got its name. And the opening five sentences is how CNN chose to detail Jack Wilson's heroics.
They say that in only 24 of those situations was the attack ended by an armed civilian eliminating the threat with their own firearm. The mainstream media and gun-grabber activist groups latch onto this single figure to say that a good guy with a gun stopping a bad guy with a gun is rare. In fact, over the past 22 years, they have only stopped 5% of all mass-casualty shootings. And they are technically correct. But they are only telling half the story. Here is where ALERRT's information reveals a lot that the mainstream media will never share.
It simply just doesn't fit the narrative. Of those 464 attacks over a 21-year period, 266 times the attack stops prior to law enforcement arriving on scene. Let us repeat that. 266 of the 464 active shooter events between 2000 and 2021 ended before police arrived to engage. That equates to 57% of the time. Of that percentage, 193 endings are coordinated by the attackers themselves. They either leave the scene or they self-eliminate. That leaves 73 instances where active shooters were stopped by civilians. In 24 instances, they shot the attacker, as we witnessed with the recent shooting in Indiana.
In 49 other instances, by-standers subdued the suspect and held them until police arrived. So, let's focus on that math for just a second. That means that civilian interaction accounted for 16% of the stoppages. Of the 266 occurrences of an active shooter ending before police presence, 146 ended either by civilian intervention or suicide. That is 55% of the time. All of that is what has happened before police get there. So, in the face of the narrative that the mainstream media is attempting to spin, we found examples of where the good guy did stop the bad guy.
We encountered a list compiled of incidents occurring between 2019 and the present; 354 times that a legally armed civilian stopped the bad guy(s). Technically, that number is 355, but the Indiana attack had not yet been accounted for. Admittedly, this list is not comprised of only active shooter scenarios. 354 examples in just the previous 2 years, 7 months, and 21 days. Compared to 466 over 21+ years. It kind of changes the argument. But the fact that it identifies other criminal activity speaks to an even greater problem with the national media.
They do not view armed violent crime as newsworthy. The only type of gun crimes that matters to them is when a white male opens fire in a crowded place with an AR-15. Why? Because it helps them spin their lies surrounding white supremacy and their attack on the 2nd Amendment. The question that must be asked with the stories listed: How many of these scenarios would have been labeled a mass shooting had an armed civilian not acted to stop it? Here are snippets from a few of these stories that we carried on LET, that didn't make the list we linked above. White Settlement, TX - In December 2019, Jack Wilson, a firearms instructor, fatally shot Kinnunen after he shot and killed 67-year-old Richard White, a security volunteer of the church, and 64-year-old Anton “Tony” Wallace, a server of the church. After he shot at the two men, the gunman headed towards the front of the sanctuary. Wilson searched for a clear line of fire and shot a single bullet that ended the attack. According to prosecutors, there were about 260 people in the church during the time of the attack.
Kalispell, MT - According to reports, the incident occurred in the parking lot of the Fuel Fitness center at 1305 Highway 2 West at about 10:52 a.m. on September 16th [2021]. The incident started off after 27-year-old Fuel Fitness manager Matthew David Hurley, along with his assistant manager Matthew Underhill, approached a vagrant sleeping in the rear parking lot to discuss a refund over an unused membership.
Apparently, the discussion became heated, as the vagrant was reportedly demanding more money than was being offered by the two regarding this refund. When both Hurley and Underhill informed the vagrant that he wasn’t going to be offered any more money, the vagrant allegedly said they were “going to die today.” The suspect opened fire on the two employees, fatally shooting Hurley while Underhill was able to reach cover. While this was going on, William Keck – a member of the fitness center – was going out to his car to retrieve his wallet.
However, when Keck stepped outside, he heard the gunfire and another gym employee informed him that Hurley had been shot. Keck then ran out to his vehicle to retrieve his firearm and told the vagrant to stop shooting – but instead, the suspect then allegedly turned his attention toward Keck and fired at him. Keck returned fire, striking the vagrant. But what we detailed in those stories is not what the mainstream media focused on. Do a quick Google search of "CNN White Settlement." The first hit is a piece headlined: How White Settlement, the site of the deadly church shooting, got its name. And the opening five sentences is how CNN chose to detail Jack Wilson's heroics.
"The North Texas town of White Settlement, the site of a deadly church shooting over the weekend, was built in the 1840s.
It’s a relatively small town, with a population of nearly 18,000.
Here is how it got its name:
The land was historically occupied by the Comanche, Tonkawa and Caddoc tribes, according to Norris Chambers, founder of the White Settlement Historical Museum. When an influx of white settlers began moving into the area in the mid-19th century, the indigenous people named the land for its new residents."
Also, to be highlighted from CNN's initial coverage of the shooting, they took time to alert their readers that the state of Texas had taken the horrific step of legalizing concealed carry in houses of worship in response to the Sutherland Springs church shooting that left 26 dead.
We have chronicled that event heavily in the pages of LET, and have become friends with Stephen Willeford, the good guy with a gun who put the bad guy on the run in that tragic shooting.
So, while we can provide story after story to refute the arguments of a mainstream media hellbent on seeing law-abiding gunowners disarmed, they will continue to tell their version of these stories, independent of all the facts.
And they likely know they are leaving out vital details. They just don't care.
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The opinions reflected in this article are not necessarily the opinions of LET
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