Firearm statistics expert John R. Lott Jr. recently exposed the FBI’s gross underestimation of the number of times armed citizens have stopped a mass shooting event and suggested that the agency is purposefully muffing the numbers for political reasons.
In his review of the FBI data published by Real Clear Investigations, Lott, president of the Crime Prevention Research Center, attributed the discrepancies to errors on the FBI’s part, including misidentifying and overlooking incidents.
The FBI insists that only 4.4 percent of active shooter incidents between 2014 and 2021 were interrupted or stopped by an armed citizen. But according to Lott, the number is actually 14.6 percent.
The FBI defines an active shooter as “an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area.” The bureau excludes incidents it deems “related to other criminal activity, such as a robbery or fighting over drug turf,” according to Lott.
Lott notes that the FBI’s narrow criteria necessarily eliminate many incidents that should be included.
For instance, between 2014 and 2021, the bureau counted 252 active shooter incidents, but Lott found 281. The FBI reported only 11 shootings stopped by an armed citizen, while Lott found 41.
Lott finds the discrepancies glaring. As do others.