Armed Citizens Stopped 12 Plotted Crimes in August and September Only

At least 12 licensed gun owners have reportedly hindered crime and attacks in the US in just two months- August and September. They mainly thwarted such plans by showing their gun or firing it at the suspect.

In August, a gas station cashier shot dead a suspected assailant preparing to attack. Similarly, a liquor store owner in California scared off a would-be robber by pulling the trigger on his shotgun. On that fateful day, Craig Cope describes that he was alone in the store and that all he needed was to protect himself alone and not his employees like he does every day.

On a different occasion, a concealed carry single-handedly stopped carjacking by engaging in a shooting war in Chicago. The firearm holder reportedly left the suspect severely wounded as he escaped.

In September, another clerk at a gas station in San Antonio fired at and killed a robber. Another cashier stopped an attack in Florida in the same month by just brandishing his gun.

A woman in California state shot and killed an invader fighting with her husband in their home. Still, in September, another suspect was killed in Oklahoma.

A homeowner instantly killed an intruder on a Sunday morning in Oregon by opening fire. Another armed suspect who pulled a shooting spree at a family gathering in Florida was killed by an armed bystander.
A mayor’s security officer saved a man outside an Apple Store from an attempted attack in Chicago, Illinois, all in September.

These are a few cases that have received the media’s attention, with the possibility that many other cases were not reported.

These incidents occurred when states like Philadelphia and Newyork have introduced new gun control laws to reduce crime. In New York, Governor Kathy Hochul approved a legislature that sees carrying guns to public places like parks, restaurants, schools, theaters, and even Times Square illegal.

“This whole concept that a good guy with a gun will stop the bad guys with a gun doesn’t hold up. And the data bears this out, so that theory is over,” Hochul said before passing the law in September.

In Philadelphia, an innocent citizen Tiffany Fletcher’s death in a gun gang battle motivated the local authority to put stringent measures on gun owners. In September, Mayor Jim Kennedy approved a gun ban order in recreational centers. “We will not tolerate the endangerment of children and families while they are in the care of our treasured community spaces, and we must do everything we can to protect the public, as well as the dedicated staff that make these facilities run,” said Mayor Kennedy.

Lobby groups on gun control have praised these moves claiming local governments are moving in the right direction with gun control.

Some experts, however, believe that limiting the carrying of guns in some areas is putting many people at risk. “There have been no problems in Philadelphia with concealed handgun permit holders that justify the mayor’s gun-free zones. In banning guns, the people who will obey the ban are the law-abiding permit holders,” John Lott, the President of the Prime Prevention Research Center, told Fox News Digital.

He also reiterated, “The ban actually serves as a magnet for criminals as they know their victims will be defenseless in those areas. But it is even worse because law-abiding people will now be defenseless going to or from those gun-free zones. Concealed handgun permits have been soaring in Philadelphia because crime is out of control and the city can’t protect people.”

In reference to an article he wrote in 2021, he acknowledged that many carry permit holders had stopped crimes that would otherwise leave several citizens dead.

Lott notes that it is surprising that data from different studies suggest that defensive gun uses are approximately four times more common than crimes but are less covered in the news.

Simon Fraser University’s professor Gary Mauser supports the idea that guns have been used more defensively than in crimes, claiming that in these scenarios, it is very rare that the guns are fired. “National surveys find that firearms are rarely fired when used to stop a violent attack. Such cases are unlikely to be reported to the police and even less likely to be found in media stories. Relying upon media stories would greatly underestimate the true number of defensive gun uses,” said Garry.