The Texas Tower massacre and concealed carry: If safety matters, understand the facts

The following op-ed was submitted in response to a USAToday editorial entitled "Concealed carry on campus is a bad idea." The newspaper chose not to publish our response

Our children are dying because adults are unwilling to put safety above politics. When killers target our schools/kids, time (not guns) is the problem. Lives are saved when we reduce the time the killer is allowed to kill. James Alan Fox’s opinion piece, “Concealed carry on campus is a bad idea” is not just wrong, it’s dangerous.

In 1966 when a killer began sniping people from atop UT’s tower, police were armed with a revolver, and maybe a shotgun. From the observation deck 300 feet above, the killer shot students at will. He was prepared to continue for days. Police were unable to return effective fire and unprepared to deal with the situation. They needed rifles but didn’t have them. Citizens came to the rescue.

Cox refers to the armed citizenry as “well-meaning” but adds, “The volunteer ground force did more harm than good, however, as their shots at the tower, ricocheting off the concrete, had no effect on the gunman who was well-protected behind the barrier.”

The truth is that citizens used hunting rifles to return fire. They forced the killer to shoot through drain holes, greatly limiting his visibility. By shooting back through these same openings they further limited his opportunity to kill. The citizens also helped by giving rifles to police. Together, police and citizens interrupted the killer’s plan saving countless lives. Though the event lasted over 90 minutes, most of the carnage occurred in the first 20 minutes before citizens were shooting back. Citizens bought time for an effective police response.

That response came in the form of two police officers, and one citizen (Allen Crum) who climbed the steps and killed the killer, ending the event. Officer Ramiro Martinez delivered the ending blows. In Chris Bird’s book, “Surviving a Mass Killer Rampage” Martinez is quoted about his thoughts when learning Crum was an armed civilian, “I didn’t have a second thought, because we had already passed all those dead and wounded, and he was with me, and he had a rifle. What more could you ask of a man?”

The event was key to law enforcement realizing they needed some “Special Weapons And Tactics.” Los Angeles police formed the first SWAT team the following year to deal with critical incidents. The concept has been copied nationwide and saved thousands of lives.

Police have continued to refine how they deal with active killers with significant lessons being learned from events at the McDonald's in San Ysidro, Columbine High School and Virginia Tech University. While police have learned and improved their response, our educators have clung to failed policies resulting in unnecessary loss of life.

Our nation has many experts who have identified time as the key to reducing casualties. Professor J. Eric Dietz of Purdue University noted in his paper, Mitigating Active Shooter Impact, “The effectiveness is most improved, however, when both a resource officer and concealed carry personnel are present. Not surprisingly, increasing the percentage of concealed carry personnel improved the response time and decreased the number of casualties.” He further noes, “Through additional training concealed carry personnel could maneuver towards active threats instead of just sheltering in place. This, in conjunction with a resource officers, would likely result in even fewer casualties.”

Through our “FASTER Saves Lives” program, we are facilitating educator training with topic experts. Schools have a moral and legal obligation to protect children. We provide the training they need.

Time is the key factor. Citizens stop most killers before police arrive. The better armed and trained they are, the more lives they will save. Parents are right to ask why our “educators” are the last to learn. The Texas law is a step in the right direction.

Jim Irvine, Director
FASTER Saves Lives
http://fastersaveslives.org/

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