An armed civilian shoots a gunman in the United States who has previously killed three people. The police celebrate him as a “hero” and “good Samaritan”.
Greenwood/Indiana – Gun shootings are a major problem in the United States. The FBI counted a total of 61 so-called mass shootings in the country in 2021, 50 percent more than in the previous year. The series will continue in 2022. On May 24, a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas. On July 4, a man shot dead seven people and injured 35 others during a parade near Chicago. And these are just two examples.
Armed passer-by shoots gunmen: Attacker kills three people
The gun lobby NRA’s response to these rampages is more guns. And the organization is not alone in this view. Ex-President Donald Trump said at the NRA annual meeting in Houston (Texas) after the Uvalde shooting: “The existence of evil is one of the very best reasons to arm law-abiding citizens.”
Now another deadly gun attack on Sunday evening (local time) seems to support this view. A man opened fire in a food court at a mall in Greenwood, Indiana, killing at least three people. Three other people were injured. The city’s mayor, Mark Myers, said in a statement. The attacker was shot dead by “an armed person,” it said.
Armed passer-by shoots gunman: police call him “good Samaritan”
A police representative also said that the alleged shooter was killed by an armed civilian. It is a 22-year-old man who was also in the mall and was legally carrying a gun. This is a “good Samaritan” and a “hero”, according to the police representative. “We are devastated by another incident of this nature in our country, in our city,” he said. In a statement on Facebook, police urged witnesses to the attack to come forward.
The suspected gunman is an adult man. His motive is unclear, it said. According to the information, he had more ammunition with him and a suspicious backpack was found.
Dispute over gun laws in the USA: Supreme Court extends gun law
In view of the many killing sprees and the many deaths from shootings, a debate about stricter gun laws is raging in the USA. In many states, the regulations are very lax. Only recently, the Supreme Court in the USA even extended the gun law in a majority decision.
