Ever-controversial Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona, believes he has a solution for mass shootings like the massacre that left 14 people dead in San Bernardino, California, on Dec. 2.
Arpaio believes people with concealed-carry permits should take out a shooter, The Huffington Post reported. “I'm just talking about the areas where you have large crowds and someone pulls out the gun and starts shooting. Maybe somebody with a concealed weapon takes the guy down,” Arpaio told KPHO.
“I’m concerned about what's going on. Just think about Colorado. If there was someone in there with a concealed weapon that guy would have been shot down,” he said.
Arpaio called on the 250,000 Arizonans who have a concealed carry permit in that state to be vigilant. This isn’t the first time Arpaio has called on gun owners to stand up after a mass-shooting. After the 2013 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, Arpaio announced armed civilians would be protecting schools around Phoenix.
Other members of law enforcement in Arizona believe Arpaio is misguided. Steve Henry, chief deputy of the Pinal County Sheriff's Office, said untrained civilians could just add to the chaos and put more people at risk.
"Sometimes it's not proper to pull the trigger because the collateral damage is not worth it," Henry said. "We don't want to walk into a gun fight between anybody, much less a gun fight where people are untrained."
Sources: The Huffington Post, KPHO Image via Chuy Benitez/Flickr
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