About forty-five minutes ago, an employee of a Manhattan Home Depot entered the store on his day off, asked to see his supervisor and then shot him to death. A moment later, he turned the gun, killing himself.
New York City is one of the most difficult places in the US to obtain a handgun legally. Obtaining a concealed weapons permit there is almost impossible and is getting more difficult all the time. The fact is that making weapons illegal does not deter those who would kill or commit crimes, murders or suicides with one. It does however, make it more difficult for people who might wish to defend themselves, their coworkers or their families from an active shooter. There is significant evidence that when an active shooter encounters someone with a weapon, that they usually surrender or shoot themselves. The overwhelming evidence is that they stop killing others.
It doesn't take any great mind to predict that terrorists are incoming. Public places in the US may see active shooters in public places as ISIS and other militant Islamists, and non-Islamists decide that violence and anarchy might get their cause on the news. We need more people trained and vetted who carry concealed handguns in public places in order to defend themselves and others.
My prayers and condolences go out to the families and the employees of Home Depot who have been impacted by today's sad events.
Spencer Coursen is a connection of mine from Linkedin who runs a security company and has an impressive background in protection. He makes some excellent points regarding threat assessment.
Spencer Coursen on Threat Assessment
