Well, lo and behold, the Clackamas Town Center Mall shooter was on his merry rounds shooting people when he saw an Armed American.
As so often happens with deranged individuals in mass public attacks, he retreated and committed suicide rather than go up against someone else with a gun.
We have to wonder why it’s been several days before we’ve heard this aspect of the story.
Just like Guns Save Life’s highway sign slogan says:
HERE’S A THOUGHT
FOR YOU TO PONDER
AN ARMED CITIZEN
AS FIRST RESPONDER
Clackamas man, armed, confronts mall shooter
PORTLAND, Ore (KGW) – … Nick Meli is emotionally drained. The 22-year-old was at Clackamas Town Center with a friend and her baby when a masked man opened fire.
“I heard three shots and turned and looked at Casey and said, ‘are you serious?'”
The friend and baby hit the floor. Meli, who has a concealed carry permit, positioned himself behind a pillar.
“He was working on his rifle,” said Meli. “He kept pulling the charging handle and hitting the side.”
The break in gunfire allowed Meli to pull out his own gun, but he never took his eyes off the shooter.
“As I was going down to pull I saw someone in the back of the charlotte move and I knew if I fired and missed I could hit them.”
Meli took cover inside a nearby store. He never pulled the trigger. He stands by that decision.
“I’m not beating myself up cause I didn’t shoot him,” said Meli. “I know after he saw me I think the last shot he fired was the one he used on himself.”
Thank God this good guy ignored the “no guns” sign on the mall entrance. The murdering devil certainly did, but Mr. Meli’s actions interrupted the spree before the body count got too high (of course, n=1 is too high … but my point is this could have been much worse.)
How long do you suppose it will take for Mr. Meli to become the outlaw in the media for carrying into a “no guns” zone? On second thought, this aspect of the story will never make into the national media coverage!
If you can, keep us posted on Mr. Meli’s legal situation. If need be I’ll start a legal fund. People have to understand that not every gun in a hand is the same, and not every act of violence is equally evil. Sticking knives in people is wrong, but we don’t shut down hospitals and arrest surgeons, even if soome of them happen to carry Swiss Army knives elsewhere.