Armed Citizen Stops Attack at Titusville, FL Back to School Event

Arizona -(Ammoland.com)- A male attacker with a gun opened fire at a back to school event in Titusville, Florida on Saturday, August 4th, 2018, at about 5:20 p.m. About a dozen shots were fired.

An armed citizen drew his own handgun and returned fire. The attacker was severely wounded with a head shot. No one else was injured. 150 people were attending the event, including over 100 children. Video was captured at the event, showing people fleeing the attacker. Shots can be heard on the audio of the video. From titusville.com:

Reports of the shooting started coming in at 5:20 PM on Saturday, August 4th 2018, at Isaac Campbell Park, located at 701 South Street.

The initial shooter was airlifted to a local hospital with life threatening injuries. His gun was recovered from the scene.

From mynews13.com:

“It was kids in the path of those bullets, said Dwight Harvey, who was at the event. “But thank God none of the kids got hurt. To have this happen at an event for the kids and peace in the city it’s just crazy to me; it’s just unbelievable.”

Police, who are investigating the event, reports the armed defender was legally carrying his firearm. From wftv.com:

A bystander licensed to a carry a firearm then shot the shooter, who was flown to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries, police said.

The police reported that the result could have been much worse in the crowded venue. From orlandosentinel.com:

“We are extremely grateful that nobody else was injured in this incident,” Deputy Chief Todd Hutchinson said in a news release. “This suspect opened fire at a crowded public park, this could have been so much worse”.

Carry permits have been trending up in minority communities. The number of people carrying weapons for self-defense has been increasing all over the United States, but the number of legal carriers has been increasing faster among women and minorities. From foxnews.com:

Records from states that keep statistics on race and concealed handgun permits showed that from 2012 to 2016, the number of blacks who have permits grew 30 percent faster than whites who have them.

Asians appear to be the group that has experienced the largest increase in permitted concealed carry permits.

“All states now allow concealed carry,” CPRC President John Lott Jr. said. “And they are all issuing more permits. The longer that concealed carry law has been in effect, the more time that people have had to apply for and receive permits.”

Dr. John Lott has found that urban minorities see the greatest decreases in crime as the numbers of legally armed citizens increase in those areas. From uslawshield.com:

My research has demonstrated that the two groups that benefit the most from carrying guns are the likeliest victims of crime (poor blacks in high-crime urban areas) and people who are physically weaker (women and the elderly). Dozens of published peer-reviewed studies find similar results.

As more minorities legally carry self-defense firearms, more instances of legal self-defense will occur. As minority groups learn they are able to exercise their Second Amendment rights, more minorities will support and defend those rights.

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About Dean Weingarten:

Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of constitutional carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and recently retired from the Department of Defense after a 30-year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.