Does anyone know whether anyone else in that theater was armed that night?

[hedgehog]

It's doubtful that anyone who was there and carrying will be willing to come forward at this point. But what are the odds that one or more people there actually was carrying?

[Zoeisright]

1. Colorado has concealed carry. I'm sure there was at least one person.

Which proves the point that more people carrying guns does NOT make for a safer society.

[Lizzie Poppet]

5. Um, no it doesn't.

It's a single incident, and as such is offset by only a single incedent in which someone carrying a gun did prevent a serious crime. Examples abound.

More to the point, if someone was indeed carrying in the theater, that they didn't try to shoot Holmes could very well reflect their good judgement, not the uselessness of carrying or their cowardice. The circumstances of that situation were such that shooting would probably have been a very bad idea: chaos, low light, gas in the room, etc. I'd say the chances of someone having a clear line-of-fire to Holmes without recklessly endangering bystanders was small.

[JanMichael]

9. please post some examples of a gun carrying citizen

that stopped a MASS shooting in a crowded place.

I am not really interested in the ones where homeowners, or car owners protected themselves; I already know that. I am specifically talking about mass shootings in public places.

[Lizzie Poppet]

11. I didn't claim there were any.

I claimed there were incidents in which "a serious crime" was prevented, and you apparently agree.

I wouldn't expect there to have been incidents of preventing mass killings. As I've mentioned elsewhere, these incidents are statistical blips. They simply don't occur with sufficient frequency for there to have been many opportunities for such prevention to have occurred...just like only a small minority of "normal" violent crimes are prevented in this manner. It' s a matter of probability...

[former9thward]

15. Appalachian School of Law, January 16, 2002.

Former student killed three before being taken down by armed students.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appalachian_School_of_Law_shooting

[JanMichael]

17. ? Two off duty officers got the guy

after he got outside. Not exactly a gun battle in a crowded place.

[former9thward]

18. They were students.

No two events transpire exactly the same. No one knows what would have happened if these armed students had not been there.

I'll give you another:

In the small town of Winnemucca Nevada a man bent on performing a mass shooting at a bar was stopped by an armed CCW permit holder who happened to be in the right place at the right time. The alleged mass murderer had already killed two victims & had injured two others with gunshot wounds, but after reloading to resume his shooting spree he was shot & killed by an armed CCW permit holder who was also at the bar. http://dustinsgunblog.blogspot.com/2008/05/nv-mass-shooting-stopped-by-ccw-permit.html

And another:

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) - A citizen with a gun stopped a knife wielding man as he began stabbing people Thursday evening at the downtown Salt Lake City Smith's store.

Police say the suspect purchased a knife inside the store and then turned it into a weapon. Smith's employee Dorothy Espinoza says, "He pulled it out and stood outside the Smiths in the foyer. And just started stabbing people and yelling you killed my people. You killed my people."

Espinoza says, the knife wielding man seriously injured two people. "There is blood all over. One got stabbed in the stomach and got stabbed in the head and held his hands and got stabbed all over the arms."

Then, before the suspect could find another victim - a citizen with a gun stopped the madness. "A guy pulled gun on him and told him to drop his weapon or he would shoot him. So, he dropped his weapon and the people from Smith's grabbed him."

http://www.abc4.com/content/news/top_stories/story/conceal-and-carry-stabbing-salt-lake-city-smiths/NDNrL1gxeE2rsRhrWCM9dQ.cspx

I am confident you will find fault with these incidents also as not being a perfect example.

[TheCowsCameHome]

2. Perhaps there was.

but it didn't / wouldn't do any good.

[brewens]

3. If so, he/she must have been hit or smart enough to get the hell out of there.

Depending on what they were packing, they would have had to have been pretty good or lucky to take him out.

[hedgehog]

6. Exactly - there have been several threads discussing what

might have happened had anyone else there been armed, but I think we saw exactly what did happen. I think there were probably several people carrying.

[hedgehog]

8. I disagree with your statements.

[hughee99]

10. Yes, god damn gun toting racists KNEW the guy under all that body armor was white AND

they were fucking cowards for not firing away in a dark theater filled with tear gas and bystanders. Sure, let's go with that.

[L0oniX]

7. Most CWP holders would opt to not bring it into any event where there are a lot of people.

Normal restrictions include sporting events and can include concerts and fairs as examples.

[Earth_First]

12. Doesn't matter, guns are bad, mmmkay... nt

[slackmaster]

13. According to another DU contributor, the theater had a policy banning firearms

So presumably nobody else in the theater was armed.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002985577#post66

[ProgressiveProfessor]

19. Exception would be off duty or retired LEOs

[earthside]

14. I'm not against conceal carry, but ...

... let's be clear, one would have to be a moron in a crowded situation to pull out their gun and start shooting -- even at a perceived 'bad guy'.

Because if another concealed carry person in the crowd sees you start shooting at the 'bad guy', then you likely become a 'reasonable' target, too.

Actually, here in Colorado, since concealed carry became the law, we have had few if any abuses or tragic mistakes.

I think concealed carry is mostly an emotional crutch for men and women with self-esteem issues -- not crazy or dangerous people -- but minor feelings of inferiority. I'm just not that worried or concerned about concealed carry.