Ivan Lopez

I don’t know what set Army Specialist Ivan Lopez on his deadly rampage.

Maybe he had PTSD.  Maybe he didn’t and was pissed he wasn’t going to get benefits.  Maybe he was just an evil person and it was his time to howl.

I do know what stopped him.  The same thing that stopped all the other spree killers over the last dozen or so years.

“The shooting spree ended after roughly 15 minutes when a female military police officer confronted the shooter, prompting him to turn his .45 caliber Smith & Wesson pistol on himself, military officials said. "  (www.huffingtonpost.com)

I seldom trust statements that contain “always” and “never”, but I’d bet my life on the following: 

Spree shooters always stop and surrender or take their own life when confronted with the armed and effective individual. In either case the killing of innocents stop.

I’m not the first to say any of this.  Unfortunately, I suspect I will not be the last to say it either. 

It’s been documented too many times.  It takes an good armed man to stop a bad armed man.

“Never call an unarmed man ‘security.’”  Lt. Col Dave Grossman.

Growing up I always assumed the military issued you a weapon, ammunition and you were responsible for keeping it in working order and at hand during on-duty hours.  It made sense to me.  You never knew when you’d need your tools of your trade.

What do I know?  I was never in the service.  I guess a child sees things without all the encumbrances of CYA and political correctness.  

It’s past time to sweep that stuff out of the room.

It’s time to issue and train every officer and NCO in the service to carry a sidearm and issue orders to be armed on-duty as well as off-duty on base. 

Will there be accidental discharges?  Yes.  Every police department has them.   Most shooters have them.  In fact, if you haven’t had one, you probably haven’t shot enough.

But if you are following the first NRA Rule (ALWAYS Keep the Gun Pointed in a Safe Direction) there maybe some embarrassment but nobody will die.  Excluding claims from some 16-year old girls, nobody ever died of embarrassment!

I wish Lopez had taken his rage out blogging or working out on a heavy bag.  But he didn’t.

Most veterans served honorably, and often at great expense to themselves and their family.  When they do hurt someone, it’s usually themselves.

Let’s give American heroes the tools to protect themselves.

Tactical content?  Be armed and avoid places that restrict your ability to protect yourself.