[Vision2020] FBI Data Belies Air Force Claim That Open Carry Stops 'Many' Shooters

[Kenneth Marcy]

*http://tinyurl.com/j3ojjv2 *

FBI Data Belies Air Force Claim That Open Carry Stops 'Many' Shooters

Servicemembers stationed at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., fire handguns at 
an indoor shooting range. (Air Force/John Farnell)
Service members stationed at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., fire handguns 
at an indoor shooting range. (Air Force/John Farnell)
Military.com Jan 24, 2016 | by Bryant Jordan

FBI data on the number of active shootings thwarted by armed citizens 
appears to contradict an Air Force <http://www.military.com/air-force> 
argument for authorizing off-duty airman to open-carry and conceal-carry 
weapons while on base.

In a reminder to commanders on Wednesday, Maj. Keith Quick, an Air Force 
Security Forces Integrated Defense action officer said national data 
analyzed by the Air Force showed that "many [active-shooter incidents] 
ended without police intervention because there was somebody there who 
had a concealed carry permit or somebody interdicted the active shooter."

But the data, which the Air Force said came from the FBI, states that 
only 5 of the 160 active-shooter incidents between 2000 and 2013 -- or 
3.1 percent -- ended "after armed individuals who were not law 
enforcement personnel exchanged gunfire with the shooters."

The FBI report can be found here 
<https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2014/september/fbi-releases-study-on-active-shooter-incidents/pdfs/a-study-of-active-shooter-incidents-in-the-u.s.-between-2000-and-2013>. 
An Air Force spokeswoman on Friday said the officer may have used other 
data, which officials are now trying to identify.

Across the country, there are discussions, especially after mass 
shootings, over whether having more civilians armed would prevent mass 
killings by deranged gunmen or terrorists.

National Rifle Association Chief Executive Officer Wayne LaPierre Jr. 
famously advocated for armed civilians by claiming that "the only thing 
that stops a bad guy with a gun, is a good guy with a gun."

The Air Force programs permitting base commanders to allow qualified 
airmen to carry weapons on base, on and off duty, were prompted by 
specific attacks on military installations, including one in July 2015 
in Chattanooga, Tennessee, that left four Marines dead and a sailor wounded.

The gunman, a Kuwait-born naturalized U.S. citizen, was shot and killed 
by police.

Following that attack, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter directed the 
service secretaries to beef up armed security, including at facilities 
off base.

In December, Air Force Secretary Deborah James, referencing the 
Chattanooga attack as well those at Fort Hood 
<http://www.military.com/base-guide/>, Texas, in 2009 and at the 
Washington Navy <http://www.military.com/navy> Yard in 2013. Army 
<http://www.military.com/army> psychiatrist Maj. Nidal Hasan, who would 
admit to jihadist sympathies, killed 13 and wounded more than 30. At the 
Navy Yard, former Navy employee Aaron Alexis killed 12 people before 
turning the gun on himself.

"In the wake of [those attacks], we worked closely with DOD, the Joint 
Staff and other services to identify and provide effective and 
long-lasting force protection enhancements," James said.

The Air Force has three programs intended to enhance security through 
conceal-carry or open-carry by qualified airman. All require the 
approval of unit commanders and the authority of the base commander.

The programs are the Unit Marshal, the Security Forces Staff Arming and 
Law Enforcement Officer Safety Act, and the Law Enforcement Officer 
Safety Act -- the latter a federal statute established for civilian 
police but now available to service members through their commanders.

Some will allow for conceal carry and others for open carry. In all 
cases the airmen have to be properly trained and qualified with the 
weapon. Unit level commanders may request the armed credentialing for 
their airmen but the base commander is the approving authority.

"We take the safety of our service members, civilians and their families 
who support them seriously and continue to examine ways to make our 
installations and facilities safer."

*http://tinyurl.com/j3ojjv2
*

*Again, t*he FBI report can be found here 
<https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2014/september/fbi-releases-study-on-active-shooter-incidents/pdfs/a-study-of-active-shooter-incidents-in-the-u.s.-between-2000-and-2013>.


Ken

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