How often does a ‘good guy with a gun’ end an attack?

A shooting at an Indiana mall Sunday that left three innocent people dead and two more injured could have been far worse if not for the actions of an armed civilian, authorities say.

Police are calling 22-year-old Elisjsha Dicken a hero after they say he shot and killed the suspected 20-year-old gunman with a firearm he was legally carrying.

“Many more people would have died last night if not for a responsible, armed citizen that took action very quickly within the first two minutes of the shooting,” said Greenwood Police Chief Jim Ison.

How common is it for civilians to stop active threats? Data from the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) Center at Texas State University suggests bystanders stop active attacks about 16% of the time, although typically without using a gun.

From 2000 to 2021, ALERRT researchers studied 464 attacks (434 shootings, 23 knife attacks and seven vehicle attacks) and found civilians — including security guards and off-duty police officers — stopped attackers before police arrived on 73 occasions. In the vast majority of those cases (67%), bystanders subdued the assailant using physical force.

An armed civilian stopped attacks using a gun in 24 of the 464 attacks recorded, about 5% of all events.