Republican Rep. Pat Fallon of Texas said on Saturday that Americans should carry firearms to protect themselves from active shooters following a mass shooting at a Texas mall.
The shooting at the Allen Premium Outlets in Allen, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, left nine people dead, including the shooter, while seven others were taken to area hospitals. A police officer on the scene engaged and stopped the shooter, local law enforcement said.
“I really think law-abiding citizens should carry. Particularly when… training is not required because, as you said constitutional carry, but getting some training isn’t a bad idea to know the laws and also know how to defend yourself and others properly and within the confines of the law,” Fallon, who represents a congressional district near the location of the shooting, told Fox News host Lawrence Jones. “Unfortunately, there are some places that are gun-free zones where they tell law abiding citizens, you better not bring your firearm.”
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“But of course, criminals, by definition, are outlaws, they are outside the law and act outside the law,” Fallon continued. “So… the maximum way to be safe is to arm yourself and know how to use a firearm and support law enforcement.”
Armed citizens stopped six active shooters in 2021, according to an FBI report. A Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC) study noted that 34.4% of active shooters were stopped by armed citizens.
Alex Coker, a police officer and firearms instructor, supported Fallon’s call for citizens to get training and carry firearms.
“You have a right to… bear arms, that’s our Second Amendment, a constitutional right to… protect yourself,” Coker told Jones. “But you’ve got to have a way to mark yourself because when you pull that gun out as a concerned patriot, you know, concealed patriot, what have you just become? You’ve just became a man with a gun. You have to have a way to identify yourself, to mark yourself… as a good guy with a gun versus a bad guy with a gun.”
“That officer had to make a split-second decision to know is that a good guy or a bad guy with a gun,” Coker continued.
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