Oregon School Shooter Violated Existing ‘Common Sense Gun Laws’
The 16-year-old perpetrator who opened fire with what some reports indicate was a shotgun at the Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon, violated several “common sense gun laws” before he was stopped by a legally-armed private citizen, whose actions are now being hailed by a wide range of people, including a national gun rights leader and Oregon’s far-left Democrat governor.
Three students, ages 5, 8, and 11, were killed, along with a teacher at the school. Two other people were wounded, a student and another teacher.
But Oregon’s Democrat U.S. Senator Ron Wyden was quick to reflexively “shoot from the lip” with a statement declaring, “My heart goes out to the innocent victims of today’s horrific shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School and their loved ones now facing the awful consequences of yet another school shooting in America. The best way to honor these victims is to at long last pass common-sense gun laws that reduce the risks of more children, parents, teachers and staff forced to live in fear of similar nightmares for their schools.”
Wyden should have done some homework before circulating that statement. According to author and researcher Dr. John Lott, founder of the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC), “Only 25 of the 197 school districts in Oregon ban staff from carrying guns, and the attack occurred in one of those 25 school districts. The CPRC hired McLaughlin & Associates completed a survey in August that showed voters by a 51.4% to 35.7% margin support armed teachers, parents with children in K-12 support by an even larger 57.3% to 30.2% margin.”
The teenage killer brought a gun into a “gun-free” school. He had already fired that gun at a motorist outside of the school. Then, he opened fire inside the school building. He committed four homicides before being shot dead by the armed citizen who saw him enter the school and—as described by Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz during the first press briefing—”The suspect was shot by a community member who saw the suspect enter the school and pursued him and engaged him.”
All of those offenses fall within the left’s definition of “common sense” gun laws, and none of those laws, or any of the other gun control measures adopted by Oregon lawmakers in recent years prevented the perpetrator from entering the school.
The teen gunman reportedly fired at door locks in order to gain entry into the school, which immediately went into lockdown. It’s not clear how far he was able to get inside before the armed citizen intervened and stopped the rampage. So far, there is no established motive for the attack.
It was noticeable that authorities, including Gov. Tina Kotek, seemed determined to identify the heroic Samaritan as a “community member” rather than simply as an armed citizen, as if the mention on of a citizen being legally armed in public is to be avoided. To her credit, during the first press briefing, Kotek recognized the armed citizen’s timely intervention, stating, ” To the community member who heroically intervened to stop further loss of life, your actions carry a heavy emotional burden and I just want you to know my thoughts are with you as well.”
After all, Bend is located in east-central Oregon along the Deschutes River and there are a lot of armed citizens in that community. It is the county seat of Deschutes County, on the east side of the Cascade Mountain range. Bend is home to Nosler, Inc., the family-owned company founded by the late John Nosler in 1948 and now led by his grandson, which is a giant in the reloading industry. Gun owners in this part of Oregon are as common as fir and pine trees.
Even KGW News in Portland called the unidentified hero a “bystander” and “community member,” and referred to the individual with politically correct “they” and “their” pronouns.
That rule may apply to Oregon officials, but Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, was not the least big squeamish in his assessment of the tragedy.
“Once again,” Gottlieb said, “an armed citizen with a concealed carry license has intervened in a tragic incident, bringing it to an end and preventing further loss of innocent lives. We are heartbroken that three children and a teacher died in this horrendous event, but we are gratified that a local resident had the tool, and the courage, to take quick action.”
“When the need arose,” he said, “an armed citizen was fortunately there to immediately respond. We can all be proud that such people are our neighbors and friends.”
Appearing Friday morning on Fox News, Rob Chadwick—now a training advisor for the U.S. Concealed Carry Association (USCCA) and former head of the Tactical Training Unit at the FBI Academy in Quantico—described the Bend hero as a “responsibly armed citizen.”
The incident uncomfortably reminds anti-gunners that gun control laws do not prevent such tragedies, whether at a school, shopping mall big box store or any other place where a determined person, regardless of age, will stage an attack.
It also underscores the importance and value of an armed citizenry, and once again reminded the country that a good guy with a gun is the best defense against a bad guy with a gun.
About Dave Workman
Dave Workman is a senior editor at TheGunMag.com and Liberty Park Press, author of multiple books on the Right to Keep & Bear Arms, and formerly an NRA-certified firearms instructor.