Because mall shootings are apparently typical in the United States, the Brady Campaign called the Hudson Valley Mall incident this past Sunday "another day in America" in their pessimistic press release. The Brady Campaign also denounced the availability of the AK-47 "assault rifle" used by 24-year-old gunman, Robert Bonelli, to critically injure a National Guard recruiter when he began firing inside the mall until he ran out of bullets.
The scene, which was clearly a horrific display as described by witness accounts, demonstrates the risk that pro-control advocates seem to always overlook when calling for more gun control.
Through all the chaos and bedlam, someone was tracking the shooter; a point not at all emphasized by the mainstream media and reporters who covered the event. The gunner was being watched from the moment he took out his weapon.
One mall worker, Keith Lazarchik, was quoted Monday by the Associated Press saying he made a "split-second decision" to follow the gunman.
"People were just running out of the stores, ducking behind anything they could find - screaming, kids were screaming, everybody running," Lazarchik told ABC's "Good Morning America."
"I didn't approach him right away," he said. "I just followed him. I was creeping up behind him as he was walking down the mall shooting."
When the gunman ran out of ammunition and dropped his assault-type rifle, Lazarchik lunged for the gun and two of his co-workers tackled the gunman.
"He was standing there with his hands in the air and we just grabbed him and sat on him until police came," said Phil Dudek, a co-worker of Lazarchik's at Dick's Sporting Goods.
While the heroic actions of Lazarchik and his co-workers should be commended, one must consider how the event might have turned out differently, with less injury, had Lazarchik or any one of the mall patrons been armed with a concealed weapon.
Because New York law makes it nearly impossible for non-law enforcement citizens to conceal loaded firearms in public, a shooter can walk into a crowded venue just like the Hudson Valley Mall in Kingston and begin firing, expecting what happened on Sunday: "People were just running out of the stores, ducking behind anything they could find - screaming, kids were screaming, everybody running."
What if the gunman had more ammunition? Lazarchik would have had to wait to tackle the shooter, which could have resulted in more injuries or perhaps even a death. Had one of the mall patrons been armed, the outcome could have been different.
When a shooter is surrounded by civilians, he is at a disadvantage because he doesn't know exactly where everyone is, including Lazarchik, who followed him throughout the entire duration of the shooting; unable to intervene until he was sure that the gunner was out of ammunition and unable to harm him.
When armed police are not at the scene, the public is at the mercy of those who break the laws and create chaos. No law or gun control measure is going to stop the person described as having a "lurid fascination" with Columbine. It will be, as in this case, the job of the civilian when law enforcement is not present to intervene. In states like New York with strict gun laws, that person must do so with the lower hand.
