In fairness, you would likely be more of a danger to yourself and other innocent bystanders than the shooter if you had a gun in that position than not.
edit: to clarify - most people in that situation would likely be more of a danger than a benefit. Carrying around a loaded gun on you at all times doesn't mean you're mentally prepared or well trained enough to be able to effectively engage in urban combat at a moment's notice.
Well, in Serbia, by law it is regulated that every school must have a police officer [with a gun+tazer+spray deterrent] at the location at ALL times, and there are random inspections that may actually fine the cop and the school principal if anything wasn't done according to the regulation.
So, there's no need for students and teachers to carry guns, because there is an actual cop there. In this case it's not specified where was the police officer and why didn't they intervene. I checked on Serbian news sites, there is no info.
However, carrying guns is technically legal as long as you pass a psychological, psychiatrial and practical exams, and pay for the license which renews periodically, as well as buying the gun from a legitimate source and registering it's make, model, and other details in the national database.
Though, we do have 4K facial recognition cameras that send data to China (partnership between Ministry of Interior, Telecom Serbia and Huawei) on every 2nd utility pole throughout the capital. And they actually send you tickets for not wearing a seat belt or jaywalking if a camera records you and recognizes you. All adult citizens have their fingerprints recorded as well as a face model for automatic identification and profiling by the government of China which then shares that info with our police. And the cameras are all equipped with 4G modems and batteries so you can be sure they will transmit the data no matter what.
Yet crime still happens, because, the cameras will maybe prevent not wearing a seat belt or jaywalking, but obviously not someone shooting a bunch of kids. In this case, that PE teacher was worth more than a multi-million euro project with the Chinese telecom giant.
> However, carrying guns is technically legal as long as you pass a psychological, psychiatrial and practical exams, and pay for the license which renews periodically, as well as buying the gun from a legitimate source and registering it's make, model, and other details in the national database.
RAND did an analysis on the effectiveness of various gun regulations and found that background checks and mental illness evaluations were the most effect measure that can be implemented:
Add in child-access/safe storage laws, and those are the top three for reducing problems, generally.
I have no issue with private ownership of firearms, but there needs to be some kind of basic filter, because there are too many people that either (a) are sloppy with safety, or (b) have poor impulse control, to allow a free-for-all:
And that's just for ownership in private: IMHO there should be an extra filter if you want to conceal carry (CCW). Say, having a score of >80% in IPSC/IDPA.
You can get permit to own a gun and keep it at home if you pass a psychological, psychiatric and practical exams but getting permit to carry a gun is much harder. You have to prove to the police that your safety is in danger so such permits are commonly issued to judges, prosecutors and employees of various security companies. Corruption also provides some people with permits to carry a weapon but generally there are slim chances that common people will get such permit. It's quite uncommon to see a civilian with a weapon.
While installation of Huawei cameras is common knowledge I never heard anything about face models and stuff being sent to China. Is there any reputable source for such claims?
The true counter for a gun enthusiast is the knife enthusiast; he'll quickly devolve a defense for firearms into arguments over the 21-foot rule and the short-term effect of adrenaline/meth vs small-caliber bullets.
I mean I know that does nothing for saying everyone should or shouldn't be armed with a form of weaponry in the first place but it's still entertaining
> Sergeant Dennis Tueller of the Salt Lake City Police Department wondered how quickly an attacker with a knife, or other melee weapon, could cover 21 feet (6.4 m), so he timed volunteers as they raced to stab the target. He determined that it could be done in 1.5 seconds. [...]
> A defender with a gun has a dilemma. If he shoots too early, he risks being accused of murder. If he waits until the attacker is definitely within striking range so there is no question about motives, he risks injury and even death. The Tueller experiments quantified a "danger zone" where an attacker presented a clear threat.[3]
Almost everyone within the firearm and concealed carry community consider carrying a gun with a round in the chamber as absolutely asinine and foolhardy. No instructor or enthusiast I know does that. It’s incredibly dangerous for several reasons. Most people practice a “safety off, load chamber” movement so they can do it quickly.
Almost all modern firearms cannot accidentally discharge. There are varying safety mechanisms, one being a block of metal in front of the firing pin. You can grab a S&W and smack the hammer if you want, you won't detonate the primer.
This is absolutely untrue. If you’d like, I can link threads in guns or us to illustrate this, but I assure you that so-called “Israeli carry” is roundly ridiculed.
In 5 cases (3.1%) armed civilians stopped the shooter, and in 2 (1.3%) there were off-duty police. Most shootings (90; 56%) ended because the shooter themselves stopped on their own.
While having a firearm may be handy, in the majority of cases it was not used, and probably not even "needed". Further, if there is an active shooter, and there is probably some level of chaos going on: how does a 'good guy with a good' (GGWG) distinguish between the attacker and another GGWG?
When the police arrive, how do they make the distinction? In the UK 7/7 attacks, an unarmed civilian was killed because the police thought he was one of the attackers:
While de Menezes was a tragic unnecessary police shooting, it wasn't any kind of "live" situation; it was the 22nd July and there had been bombings the day before, and he was incorrectly believed to be wearing a suicide vest (in reality, a bulky jacket).
As you say, when the US police arrive at an active shooter situation a "GGWG" is very likely going to get killed if their gun is still visible.
There are drills for this, you know. Police aren't stupid. You can look up all the videos or reports you want, you will never find a civilian just standing there shooting at the bad guy, firefights are done in less than a few seconds.
Are you implying those 3.1+1.3=4.4% were meaningless and people should have simply given up and panicked? When talking about good guys with guns, what's the difference between a trained law-obiding citizen and a trained law-obiding law-enforcing citizen? You can call CCW course trainers and ask if it's good to be a hero.
Carrying guns is for self-defense, not self-offense. I'd say more than twice the off-duty cops is a good statistic.
Sorry for no reference, but I remember reading about attacks in US homes, and it was more common to be shot by the gun you had at home (if you had any) than being shot by other weapon by a large margin. The most common case was shooting yourself by mistake...
Local news have reported the perpetrator is a mentally ill person who feared for the safety of his family and intended to use the hostage-taking situation to establish contact with the government and voice his paranoid concerns.
28 comments
[ 2.3 ms ] story [ 67.1 ms ] threadedit: to clarify - most people in that situation would likely be more of a danger than a benefit. Carrying around a loaded gun on you at all times doesn't mean you're mentally prepared or well trained enough to be able to effectively engage in urban combat at a moment's notice.
So, there's no need for students and teachers to carry guns, because there is an actual cop there. In this case it's not specified where was the police officer and why didn't they intervene. I checked on Serbian news sites, there is no info.
However, carrying guns is technically legal as long as you pass a psychological, psychiatrial and practical exams, and pay for the license which renews periodically, as well as buying the gun from a legitimate source and registering it's make, model, and other details in the national database.
Though, we do have 4K facial recognition cameras that send data to China (partnership between Ministry of Interior, Telecom Serbia and Huawei) on every 2nd utility pole throughout the capital. And they actually send you tickets for not wearing a seat belt or jaywalking if a camera records you and recognizes you. All adult citizens have their fingerprints recorded as well as a face model for automatic identification and profiling by the government of China which then shares that info with our police. And the cameras are all equipped with 4G modems and batteries so you can be sure they will transmit the data no matter what.
Yet crime still happens, because, the cameras will maybe prevent not wearing a seat belt or jaywalking, but obviously not someone shooting a bunch of kids. In this case, that PE teacher was worth more than a multi-million euro project with the Chinese telecom giant.
edit: If you want to know more about the cameras, here's a handy article in English by CBS News: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/china-huawei-face-recognition-c...
RAND did an analysis on the effectiveness of various gun regulations and found that background checks and mental illness evaluations were the most effect measure that can be implemented:
* https://www.rand.org/research/gun-policy.html
Add in child-access/safe storage laws, and those are the top three for reducing problems, generally.
I have no issue with private ownership of firearms, but there needs to be some kind of basic filter, because there are too many people that either (a) are sloppy with safety, or (b) have poor impulse control, to allow a free-for-all:
* https://twitter.com/well_regulated_
And that's just for ownership in private: IMHO there should be an extra filter if you want to conceal carry (CCW). Say, having a score of >80% in IPSC/IDPA.
While installation of Huawei cameras is common knowledge I never heard anything about face models and stuff being sent to China. Is there any reputable source for such claims?
I mean I know that does nothing for saying everyone should or shouldn't be armed with a form of weaponry in the first place but it's still entertaining
If anyone is wondering about this:
> Sergeant Dennis Tueller of the Salt Lake City Police Department wondered how quickly an attacker with a knife, or other melee weapon, could cover 21 feet (6.4 m), so he timed volunteers as they raced to stab the target. He determined that it could be done in 1.5 seconds. [...]
> A defender with a gun has a dilemma. If he shoots too early, he risks being accused of murder. If he waits until the attacker is definitely within striking range so there is no question about motives, he risks injury and even death. The Tueller experiments quantified a "danger zone" where an attacker presented a clear threat.[3]
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tueller_Drill
Mythbusters did an segment on this (s10e11):
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckz7EmDxhtU
* https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2162496/
One critique: Adam had to cock the gun to put a bullet in the chamber, while most people who carry a firearm probably do so fully loaded.
You may wish to expand your circle of acquaintances:
"How To Israeli Carry If You Absolutely Have To...Which You Shouldn't"
* https://gunbelts.com/blog/how-to-israeli-carry/
"Israeli Carry Is Obsolete; Keep One In The Chamber"
* https://www.usacarry.com/israeli-carry/
* https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/active-shooter-study-200... * https://crimeresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/U-_Acti...
In 5 cases (3.1%) armed civilians stopped the shooter, and in 2 (1.3%) there were off-duty police. Most shootings (90; 56%) ended because the shooter themselves stopped on their own.
While having a firearm may be handy, in the majority of cases it was not used, and probably not even "needed". Further, if there is an active shooter, and there is probably some level of chaos going on: how does a 'good guy with a good' (GGWG) distinguish between the attacker and another GGWG?
When the police arrive, how do they make the distinction? In the UK 7/7 attacks, an unarmed civilian was killed because the police thought he was one of the attackers:
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Jean_Charles_de_Menez...
You can't really conclude that arms wouldn't be more useful in stopping active shooters.
As you say, when the US police arrive at an active shooter situation a "GGWG" is very likely going to get killed if their gun is still visible.
That was my point, I was being ironic.
There are drills for this, you know. Police aren't stupid. You can look up all the videos or reports you want, you will never find a civilian just standing there shooting at the bad guy, firefights are done in less than a few seconds.
Are you implying those 3.1+1.3=4.4% were meaningless and people should have simply given up and panicked? When talking about good guys with guns, what's the difference between a trained law-obiding citizen and a trained law-obiding law-enforcing citizen? You can call CCW course trainers and ask if it's good to be a hero.
Carrying guns is for self-defense, not self-offense. I'd say more than twice the off-duty cops is a good statistic.
There seem to be quite a few people using them in an offense-based capacity:
* https://twitter.com/well_regulated_
Is there a term for the opposite of damning with faint praise? Because "minor fist injuries" reads like massive praise and respect, subtly stated.
(I'm also wondering if this was somehow related to the politics of the Balkans that produced so many mass murders 20+ years ago)