U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)-– The first victim killed in the mass murder at the Greenwood Park Mall was Victor Gomez, a well thought of husband, father, and craftsman.
The story was reported by Vic Ryckaert of WRTV. Vic was able to obtain the exclusive information by talking with Greenwood Police Chief Ison as they walked to Ison’s vehicle.
Chief Ison revealed Victor Gomez was found to have a handgun on his person as investigators processed the crime scene.
Chief Ison said Gomez was not able to access the handgun in self-defense, as he was shot too quickly to draw his firearm. From WRTV:
One of the people shot to death by a gunman at Greenwood Park Mall Sunday was carrying a handgun that he never had a chance to pull, Greenwood Police Chief Jim Ison told WRTV.
“He (Sapirman) comes out (of a restroom) and the very first person that he sees walking into the restroom, he fires on, (he) shoots, then turns the gun to the food court and starts firing into the food court,” Ison said.
Gomez was the first of five people who were shot by the suspect. Three of them died.
Police later found that Gomez was carrying a handgun. Gomez, Ison said, had no chance to pull his gun and defend himself.
He had no time,” Ison said.
Vic Ryckaert confirmed to this reporter via email Police Chief Ison communicated the information to him without other reporters present.
On the afternoon of July 20, WTHR, confirmed Victor Gomez, the first victim, was armed when he was killed.
“Never had a chance to use his weapon,” said Greenwood Police Chief Jason Ison.
This is reminiscent of the West Freeway Church of Christ defense shooting in White Settlement, Texas. The murderer in that case killed the first armed defender, then another church member before he was killed with skilled shooting by Jack Wilson. Wilson made a difficult shot with precision, as did Eli Dicken.
It is very difficult to prevent someone from killing without warning if they are prepared to die while killing others. The numbers killed are greatly reduced if an armed responder is on the scene, and able to react quickly.
More than fifteen percent of adults in Indiana have concealed carry permits. As of July 1, Indiana instituted Constitutional Carry. Adults who may legally own guns in Indiana are now able to carry them concealed or openly, without obtaining separate government permission before doing so.
No information has been released as to whether Victor Gomez had an Indiana License to Carry Handgun (LTCH). He probably did not need one under the Constitutional Carry law in Indiana.
Early reporting by Greenwood Police Chief Ison indicated the police had not found that Eli Dicken had an Indiana License to Carry Handgun (LTCH) permit.
Eli Dicken has retained a well-known defense attorney and firearms instructor, Guy Relford. Relford has confirmed Eli has a valid Indiana LTCH and released the image of the LTCH.
In any situation where it is legal to carry firearms in Indiana, where there are 10 adults, the chance of encountering a person with a LTCH is over 80%
Eli’s permit is a lifetime carry permit. Eli took his responsibility to carry and protect his life and the lives of others, seriously.
The sad death of Victor Gomez shows how important it is to have more than one Armed Samaritan at hand when events demand their attention. What make, model and caliber of handgun Victor Gomez was carrying has not been made public as of this writing.
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 retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
the more of us out there armed the less criminals get away
I had no idea who Eli Dicken is when Mr. Weingarten dropped his name into the last sentence about a church shooting in Texas. I’m sure I’m not the only one puzzled by the authors introduction into a story about Mr. Dicken. I have not seen the young marksman’s name in print and I “cut the cord” on the TV six or seven years ago. I had to look up the name in order to make sense of who is Eli Dicken.
This article proves the concealed an carry narrative. The media always assumes that because we carry, that we are always out looking for trouble, similar to a vigilante wanting to take a life. when all we want to do is protect our families and friends as well as others who may not fortunately be carrying, but even though we do carry, doesn’t mean that we catch everything, and sometime end up the victim ourselves. There is nothing anybody can say to me, that will make me believe that situational awareness will make you 100% proficient, when you out with your… Read more »
One armed person or guard is effective protection only if they are not the first p person shot. Armed and uniformed guards will be the first target of a killer.
Civilian concealed carry doesn’t tip the killer off about who to shoot first. Guards should not group to be an easy and quick target.
When and if all places have or might have armed men and women the killers will be outnumbered and that deters the criminal. If the insane criminal is not deterred they’d be shot and stopped quickly.
It is too bad Gomez didn’t have the time to shoot the killer. Packing a gun doesn’t ensure you will survive an encounter it just increases your chances. I carried concealed for decades and thanks to that I stopped three felony assaults without firing a shot. This summer I decided that I will open carry during the hot summer weather. So far, the only comment from the public was a “Thank you for packing” statement. I am still feeling a little awkward about open carry, but it has been positive. I used to carry a M642 or a Glock 43,… Read more »
It’s too bad that the victim didn’t have his situational awarness working at the time. Not having any video to see, I can’t say for sure as it’s sometimes difficult to discern.
People try to detract from carrying by pointing to victims who were armed yet killed. I know of many cases where people were killed in car accidents while wearing seatbelts. These same detractors would scream bloody murder if you made the same argument with seat belts. It’s about minimizing risk and dealing with threats. Who do you want to be? The person who did everything they could to defend yourself and loved ones or the sheep who went to the slaughter? In the academy we were told. If you can’t accept that if someone wants to kill you they most… Read more »
In reading some of these posts I have to believe they must be watching the liberal TV stations. Conservative stations would have told you who Eli was and how he took out the perp starting at 40 years hit him 8 times out of 10 shots with a 9mm Glock. He should get a freaking medal.
Who is Eli Dicken? This article says nothing more than this person had a permit and is now represented. A little sloppy Dean, not up to your usual standards, this article. I wonder if the would-be mass shooter had a permit, if so many ppl in IN have them? That question goes unasked and unanswered. I had heard that the defender didn’t have a permit but was relying on Constitutional Carry for being armed at this scene. Is that Eli Dicken? If he’s the defender/Hero and is not being charged, then why does he need representation or why does his… Read more »