This past Sunday at a mall in Greenwood, Indiana, a mass shooter was shot dead by an armed civilian in the area after opening fire into a crowded food court, resulting in the deaths of three and 2 others wounded.
As explained by Jim Ison, the Greenwood Police Chief, the man made his way into the mall with a rifle and many magazines of ammunition before opening fire on the crowd sitting around the food court of the mall. Police first responded to the shooting at roughly 6 p.m. local time. The shooter was shot and killed by a still unidentified heroic civilian who had been armed at the time.
This shooting happens in the wake of a series of mass killings that have taken place across the United States that has once again sparked a heavily contentious gun debate. These other events include the massacre in Uvalde, Texas, at an elementary school, a Buffalo, New York, grocery store, and the Independence Day parade from Highland Park, Illinois.
“We are sickened by yet another type of incident like this in our country,” explained Chris Bailey, the Assistant Chief of Police of Indianapolis.
This particular incident also follows in the wake of the assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe by a sole gunman. This took place despite Japan sporting some of the most strict firearm regulations on the planet.
Reportedly, police have confiscated a suspicious backpack that was discovered on the scene, and the area is being investigated by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police, while also working with many other law enforcement agencies. As reported by Bailey, there is no active threat to the Greenwood area at this time.
Greenwood is a suburb located to the south of Indianapolis, sporting a population of roughly 60,000.
Among the most highly debated subjects in the gun debate is the right for civilians to carry firearms and the effect that any such policies have on gun-related crimes. Recently, the Supreme Court struck down some heavy-handed restrictions in New York around concealed carry permits, which caused intense backlash from Democrats. Kathy Hochul, the governor of New York, pledged to force through new specific requirements to use instead of the odd ‘proper cause’ standard, which includes going through the person’s social media history.
When the actual effectiveness of any such policy would have on the reduction of gun crime, which has been on the rise over the past few years, most prominently in the major urban areas, when the data greatly suggests that the holders of concealed carry permits are by and far extremely law-abiding when compared to the general population and law enforcement bother, the governor chose to ignore the facts and double down.
“I don’t need to have numbers,” pouted Hochul. “I don’t need to have a data point to say this.”
Anne: Do you have numbers to show that it’s the concealed carry permit holders that are committing crimes?
Hochul: I don’t need to have numbers. I don’t need to have a data point to say this. I know that I have a responsibility for this state to have sensible gun safety laws. pic.twitter.com/NiCp7POO88
— Anne McCloy (@AnneMcCloyNews) June 29, 2022