Thursday, March 28, 2024

FBI Undercounts Frequency of Good Guys With Guns Stopping Mass Shootings

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How often does a good guy with a gun save lives by ending an attack? In the wake of today's mass shooting at a daycare center in Thailand that killed 30 people, mostly children, it's a question worth asking.

And one that the has dismissed by undercounting instances of bystanders stopping attackers before the can arrive. (RELATED: How to Choose a Handgun: A Guide for New Gun Owners)

That's according to a new report from the Prevention Research Center (CPRC). Besides data showing that armed citizens stopped over 34.4% of active shootings between 2014-2021, CPRC argues the Bureau's “pattern of distortion” in its numbers was deliberate.

The Daily Caller reports:

Data provided by the CPRC shows that 34.4% of active shootings were thwarted by a good guy with a gun between 2014-2021. The FBI, however, only lists 4.4% of active shootings as having been thwarted by an armed citizen during the same time frame. The CPRC identified 360 active shooter situations during 2014-2021, 124 of which were stopped by an armed citizen. The FBI identified 252 active shooter situations, with just 11 stopped by an armed citizen.

The report quotes Gary Mauser, a gun violence researcher and an emeritus professor at Simon Fraser University, who said that “the FBI database of active shooters cannot be trusted” and that the FBI's underreporting could be the result of “bias or just incompetence.”

An active shooter is defined by the FBI as “one or more individuals actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area.” The definition does not include gang violence or incidents in which the shooting is related to other criminal activities. The CPRC explained the discrepancy between its findings and the FBI's by suggesting that the bureau may have misclassified or overlooked some incidents.

The report notes two cases in which armed citizens thwarted a shooting but were not listed in the police report because the suspects were apprehended. Two other cases classified armed civilians as armed security personnel, according to the report.

The CPRC report found 25 incidents in the past eight years it considered imminent mass shootings only stopped by vigilant bystanders and reported 83 incidents that the FBI allegedly overlooked during the same period. (RELATED: Jury Acquits 64-Year-Old Veteran in Fatal Gas Station Shooting)

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Patrick Houck
Patrick Houck
Patrick Houck is an avid political enthusiast based out of the Washington, D.C. metro area. His expertise is in campaigns and the use of targeted messaging to persuade voters. When not combing through the latest news, you can find him enjoying the company of family and friends or pursuing his love of photography.

7 COMMENTS

  1. The FBI must be completely abolished. The corruption is systemic and the organization is used for partisan political purposes. We, the citizens, deserve better and should demand it.

    • A real fact that needs to be fallowed up since 8 years of the Clintongs and 87 years of the Marxist loving Muslime Obama who weaponized the security forces CIA NSA and the FBI.

  2. it’s incredibly obvious that the politicians on the left are terrified that as long as we poses weapons they are tied to that pesky Constitution and Bill of Rights, I hate to think what they have in mind for this Nation. Once a free Nation with open and honest elections. Lawyers and politicians the Bane of a Nations existence that are motivated by huge sums of money from nefarious persons.

  3. Have to question this article! In 7 years there were only 360 active shooter incidents?! Find that very hard to believe! Maybe one year!

  4. Set up an Internet Site and contact all gun owners through NRA and other groups to register all episodes where a personal weapon was used to stop a crime. That way there will always be a NUMBER.

    • THAT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. The NRA will not allow their armed people to be “DOXED”. Especially their ccw people, concealed carry… I do not blame them. They don’t have all that info anyway.

Comments are closed.

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