It’s very good news that more people weren’t murdered in the Twin Falls, Idaho shooting on Saturday. With gratitude for that in mind, was much like others we’ve seen.
A mass murderer usually looks for a location with lots of victims. Shooting people draws attention. Once the shooting starts, the number of casualties depends on how long it takes for police to show up. The murderer wants to spend that time hunting and shooting his victims.
What happens before the police arrive makes all the difference in the world. We’d like the police to stop a mass murderer. So would every officer I’ve ever spoken to. Unfortunately, that takes time.
- It takes time before the first person calls 911. If you were in the restaurant when the shooting started, running from a murder takes priority over grabbing your cell phone. Once you know you’re safe, it often takes time before you think to call for help.
- A 911 dispatcher has to get the information and identify the location where the attack is taking place.
- The dispatcher has to contact available officers who are out on patrol.
- The patrol officers then have to get to the scene.
- Once the officers are there, they have to move on foot, find, and identify the attacker.
Everything takes time. Depending on the location and the number of civilians there, a killer can shoot about 15 people if we wait for the police to arrive and stop an attack. We’ve seen that data play out over the last decade. We have hundreds of examples. That’s the ugly calculus of time.
The results are radically different, however, if armed citizens are on the scene when the shooting starts.
Put yourself in the shoes of an ordinary person who happened to be there and armed that day.
- You hear a gunshot. There are many more ear-witnesses than eye-witnesses. You’re not sure what you heard and don’t want to believe it. Why should there be gunshots at a burger restaurant in the middle of the day?
- You look around. You hear another shot. You see people running away. If you have your family with you and you gather them and run, too. If you’re alone, you move to get a better view of what’s going on. Part of you still wonders if this is really happening.
- You see the gunman. His behavior is recognizable. You identify a threat.
- You move to a position of advantage. You want to see what’s happening, but not be seen by the shooter. That’s called concealment. You’d like to be behind something that will stop bullets. That is called hard cover.
- You engage the attacker.
The murderer wanted to shoot innocent victims. He didn’t want to get into a gunfight where he was being shot at. The murderer typically runs when challenged and usually ends his own life by suicide. Sometimes, he’s shot and killed by armed citizens at the scene who responded before the police arrive.
That’s what happens more and more often. It happens about once every three weeks here in the US. It happened again in Twin Falls, Idaho last week.
The off-duty officer was inside the restaurant when the shooting started. We don’t know if he was in uniform or wearing civilian clothes. The officer responded and the killer ran from the store. An armed citizen was outside and he opened fire on the shooter. The murderer ran again, and then took his own life. Three people were killed by the attacker and more were wounded.
I’ve heard the response from the armed citizen called “the Wild West.” I’ve heard it called “vigilantism.” Some ask, ‘Why not wait for the police?’
You can certainly wait for the police. You can wait an additional five to ten minutes (at best) until they get there. As an armed citizen, you won’t have to worry if you’ve misunderstood what was happening. You won’t have to worry what will happen if you shoot at the killer and miss.
That’s what most people do. They wait and they hope. The bad news is that another dozen or more people will be shot and killed in that time. That’s what happens when you give a murderer time to kill.
We don’t have perfect solutions. Some people are more comfortable letting people die until the police show up. They’re more comfortable taking pictures of it all with their phone. Fortunately, there are millions of people out there who don’t want to wait for the police if they can stop the killing.
About one out of ten adults are armed in public every day in America. People who carry a concealed firearm have felt the weight of the gun. It is a lethal tool. It can take a life. It can also save a life. They’ve generally given it a lot of thought. Their holster weighs down their belt. The gun weighs down their heart. They know that they will never be the same if they have to kill someone. They also know they will never be the same if they sit and watch an innocent person die.
The more these armed citizens think about it, the better they are willing to do. It isn’t a matter of becoming emotionally callous. Far from it. It means they have accepted the result and are willing to pay the price. The more they pay in advance, the less they pay after. There’s always an emotional price. We are lucky that so many of us are willing to pay it.
We owe a debt of gratitude to that off-duty state police officer and the ordinary citizen at that Idaho restaurant. They saved lives. Maybe a dozen or more. They probably wish hey could have saved more.
This article originally appeared at Slow Facts Blog and is reprinted here with permission.