Bret Baier's Special Report discusses the CPRC's research on Mass Public Shootings

More detailed information on the numbers used by Bret Baier on Fox News are available here, here, and here.  Peter Docey did make one mistake in discussing our research.  We were not subtracting off terrorist attacks from the totals.

Congressman Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) reads my recent National Review article on background checks on C-SPAN

The piece that Congressman Gohmert is reading is available here.

Talking to the Associated Press about the failure of gun control laws to stop mass public shootings

After each mass public shooting, President Obama and Hillary Clinton call for expanded background checks.  John Lott talked to the Associated Press in an article entitled "California's tough gun laws didn't make a difference in recent attack."  The article appeared in hundreds of newspapers, radio and TV outlets across the United States (e.g., Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Boston Globe, San Francisco Examiner, Fox News Latino, Kansas City Star, and Miami Herald, and even the left wing Salon and Huffington Post) and the world (Canadian TV, China Post, New Zealand Herald, Korea Herald).

As a result, gun control advocates in the days since the shooting have called for more stringent laws in California and nationwide. At least two state lawmakers say they will propose measures to close what they consider loopholes in the state's gun laws.
Crime Prevention Research Center president John Lott, a critic of additional gun laws who is often cited by the gun lobby, argued that the shooting illustrates how expanded background checks supported by President Barack Obama do not stop mass public shootings.
He noted that California, Colorado and Oregon — sites of the three most recent shootings — already have such laws in place.
"We're being told that even though these laws didn't stop these attacks in these states, somehow they would work in the rest of the country," he said. "I know the claim is, 'we don't expect it to do everything but it will do some.' Maybe they could point to one case where these laws would make a difference." . . .

On CNN with Carol Costello discussing what can be done to stop mass public shootings

John Lott talked to Carol Costello about misleading claims in the gun control debate and what can be done stop these mass public shootings (Thursday, December 3, 2015 9:52 to 9:57 AM).  The youtube of the interview here doesn't include the introduction where Costello uses the BBC's claim about mass public shootings in the United States and also a source asserting that there have been 355 mass shootings so far this year.  Lott tried to correct the record on these two claims before going into the rest of the interview.  Newsbusters compares how contentious Lott's interview was compared to that with Costello's discussion with David Gross from the Brady Campaign.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN HOST: The growing frequency of the incidents highlighted during this report from the BBC.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE BBC ANCHOR: Just another day in the United States of America, another day of gunfire, panic and fear.
COSTELLO: That's how this incident is being reported overseas, the BBC calling it "just another day" of gun violence in the United States. And, according to at least one unofficial tally, the numbers support that claim. Shootingtracker.com, which defines mass shootings as incidents in which four or more people, including the gunman, are killed or injured by gunfire, says San Bernardino was the 355th -- the 355th mass shooting this year alone. It was also, according to Shootingtracker's definition, the second worst mass shooting in the United States. The first took place early Wednesday morning in Savannah, Georgia, where a gunman killed one and wounded three others. So, let's talk about guns in America. John Lott is the founder and president of the Crime Prevention Research Center and author ofMore Guns, Less Crimes. Good morning, John.
JOHN LOTT: Good morning.
COSTELLO: John, you know gun rights advocates and those in favor of more gun laws, they always talk at cross purposes. They can't seem to get on the same page. And I guess I don't feel like having an argument with you this morning. I kind of just want to find out how we can stop these shootings together. How can both sides come up with a plan together?
LOTT: Well, sure. I mean, if you have proposals you want to talk about, I'm happy to do so. I suppose, part of it, though, is inflammatory claims, such as the two that you just went through from the BBC, as well as the tracking numbers there. I mean, first of all, these occur --
COSTELLO: No, John, let's be serious. There are too-
LOTT: -at about the same rate in Europe-
COSTELLO: -many mass shootings in this country. John, let's be clear. There are too many mass shootings in this country.
LOTT: I know, but I'm just saying-
COSTELLO: We've seen several in just the last couple of weeks.
LOTT: -we should be accurate.
COSTELLO: So let's just concentrate on that. There's a lot of gun violence in this country. We can all agree on that.
LOTT: But the point was, I was just saying in order -- there's a reason why you started with those two things. I'm just saying, just to be accurate, Europe has about the same rate of mass public shootings as we have here in the United States. France, this year, has had 508 people killed or wounded in mass public shootings. In the entire Obama presidency, there has been a total of 424. And this tracking number that you just had, the vast majority of those are gang fights, which are bad. Gang fights over drug turf are bad things--
COSTELLO: John, let's just concentrate on the matter at hand --
LOTT: But it's, I think, misleading.
COSTELLO: -- gun violence in the United States and how we can stop it, and how we can prevent these mass shootings, how we can get mentally unbalanced people from getting a hold of guns. How can we do that? How can we all get on the same page?
LOTT: Right. Well, I think you're going to have a hard time stopping terrorists or others from getting a hold of weapons. I mean, if you really believe someone is a danger to others, you should lock them up. But simply going and telling them they're not going to be able to legally buy a gun when these individuals, such as the ones in San Bernardino, I wouldn't be surprised if they were planning this a year or more in advance. It's very common for these types of mass public shootings to be planned at least six months, and sometimes even a couple years in advance. And if somebody's planning that long in advance, they're going to make the pipe bombs. They're gonna go and get a hold of the other the weapons that are there and this is very difficult to stop them. The question is, what's your backup plan? What do you do when you can't stop these individuals from making these types of weapons? And I hope we're beginning to get to the place where we allow individuals to go and defend themselves. California, it's extremely difficult for anybody to go and get a concealed carry permit, to be able to go and defend themselves against these types of attacks. The type of attack that occurred at Planned Parenthood on Friday or this or at the Oregon school or all places where --
COSTELLO: But let's be honest about one thing, John. Two of the weapons that these suspects used were purchased legally. In fact, all the guns, as far as we know, were purchased legally. So, even though there are tight gun controls in the state of California, it's still easy to buy a high-powered weapon in the United States. And that's because there are so many guns out there. Over the Thanksgiving Day holiday, 185,000 firearms were purchased -- that's a record for the holiday season. Lots and lots of people have guns in this country, yet these mass shootings keep happening. So how can more guns be the answer?
LOTT: Well, the question is where people are allowed to have guns. If you ban guns from certain areas, people like these killers don't -- aren't stopped by the bans. The people who obey the laws are law-abiding good citizens, who are no longer able to defend themselves, who are essentially sitting ducks. You make it safer for the attackers to go and commit these crimes because they don't have to worry about law-abiding citizens being able to stop them.
COSTELLO: Alright. I have to leave it there, John.
LOTT: Thank you very much.

On NewsMax TV with Steve Malzberg: On some of the anti-gun rhetoric in the wake of the CA attack

Yesterday, I joined Steve Malzberg to discuss some of the gun control claims made in the wake of the California terror attack.

Fox News Sunday uses CPRC data on Mass Public Shootings

One correction on what Chris Wallace said. Our data only looked at mass public shootings for the US and Europe, not the entire world.  Our research can be found here.  Regarding Juan Williams comparison across countries this discussion might be helpful.

Transcript from the panel discussion on Fox News Sunday:

WALLACE:  You know, Brit, some would argue that this wasn’t another mass shooting, this was a terrorist attack and so, therefore, you shouldn't just judge it as the president seemed to initially, like another Newtown or another, you know, shooting at a movie theater.
Having said that, there was a fascinating debate over mass shootings that we saw this week.  According to one definition, we have more than one mass shooting a day.  There were 355 in San Bernardino in 337 days.
On the other hand, there’s other analysis that says, if you look at it different, that we are eighth in the world when it comes to just being behind lawless countries like Norway and Belgium. So, there seems, and in fact, by all measures, gun violence has gone down dramatically in this country. . . .
WALLACE:  Well, actually, it turns out in terms of mass shootings, which is what we're specifically talking about here, it doesn't.  If you look at it per capita and you take out gang violence, which is -- well, it's a different deal.
WILLIAMS:  I’m just saying.
(CROSSTALK)
WALLACE:  It's a different deal.  We're behind Norway and Belgium.  So it’s not at all clear that there's a pattern here of such rampant gun violence. . . .

France suffered more casualties (murders and injuries) from mass public shootings in 2015 than the US has suffered during Obama’s entire presidency (524 to 428)

“The one thing we do know is that we have a pattern now of mass shootings in this country that has no parallel anywhere else in the world.  And there’s some steps we could take, not to eliminate every one of these mass shootings, but to improve the odds that they don’t happen as frequently.” –President Obama, interview that aired on CBS Evening News, Dec. 2, 2015
“With respect to Planned Parenthood, obviously, my heart goes out to the families of those impacted. … I say this every time we’ve got one of these mass shootings: This just doesn’t happen in other countries.” –Obama, news conference at COP21 climate conference in Paris, Dec. 1, 2015
“We are the only advanced country on Earth that sees these kinds of mass shootings every few months.” –Obama, statement on shootings at Umpqua Community College, Roseburg, Ore., Oct. 1, 2015
“You don’t see murder on this kind of scale, with this kind of frequency, in any other advanced nation on Earth.” –Obama, speech at U.S. Conference of Mayors, June 19, 2015
“At some point, we as a country will have to reckon with the fact that this type of mass violence does not happen in other advanced countries. It doesn’t happen in other places with this kind of frequency. And it is in our power to do something about it.” –Obama, statement on the shooting in Charleston, S.C., June 18, 2015

Yet, despite the impression that President Obama has been creating, France suffered more casualties (murders and injuries) from mass public shootings in 2015 than the US has suffered during Obama’s entire presidency (524 to 428).

A systematic look at mass public shootings from the US and Europe is available here.

Please click on screenshots to enlarge. UPDATED

Robert Dear's voter registration lists him as unaffiliated, heavy pot smoker who sought bondage and sadomasochistic sex online

This Robert Dear, the killer at the Planned Parenthood facility in Colorado, was a pretty strange guy.   From the UK Daily Mail:

. . . Robert Dear, 57, who allegedly burst into the clinic in Colorado Springs on Friday and opened fire, was a recluse who moved to a remote cabin in the state a year ago, his neighbors have told Daily Mail Online. 

But a new report by the New York Times has revealed that Dear was once a happily married family man who lived with his wife and son in South Carolina.Since his 2000 divorce, Dear seems to have declined into a loner who lives in a remote cabin, seeking bondage and sadomasochistic sex online and smoking marijuana. . . . 

Before their divorce, Dear was an independent art dealer and earned a degree in public administration from a Midwestern college, Ross told the Times.She said that Dear believed abortion was wrong, but 'it was never really a topic of discussion'. 

Ross said Dear exercised, ate healthily, rode motorcycles and listened to rock music and it 'never crossed her mind' that he would be capable of a mass shooting.   

Dear moved from North Carolina to Colorado and set up home in an area where people 'like to be by themselves' about a year ago, locals told Daily Mail Online.But he never gave any hint of any political views when he ate his meals at the only cafe in the isolated town of Hartsel, eight miles from his remote cabin. . . . 

The divorcee seems to have retreated from society after his divorce. 

An online advert posted under Dear's pseudonym after the split asked for bondage and sadomasochistic sex and company to smoke marijuana. . . .

From the New York Times:

The official said that Mr. Dear “said a lot of things” during his interview, making it difficult for the authorities to pinpoint a specific motivation. . . . 

Yet more evidence that these killers are deterred by people with guns: Charleston, South Carolina Church Shooter

As I have previously pointed out how mass public shooting after mass public shooting keep occurring where guns are banned. Here is yet another case of these killers avoiding places where people with guns might be able to stop their killing spree. From the Associated Press:

Last week, while they were drinking in the back of Scriven's house, Roof blurted out his plan about carrying out a mass shooting at the College of Charleston.
"I don't think the church was his primary target because he told us he was going for the school," Scriven said Friday. "But I think he couldn't get into the school because of the security ... so I think he just settled for the church." . . .

Here is what the College of Charleston puts up regarding their armed officers.

Police officers responding to an active shooter are trained to proceed immediately to the area in which shots were last heard in order to stop the shooting as quickly as possible. The first responding officers may be in teams; they may be dressed in normal patrol uniforms, or they may be wearing external ballistic vests and Kevlar helmets or other tactical gear. The officers may be armed with rifles, shotguns or handguns. Do exactly as the officers instruct. The first responding officers will be focused on stopping the active shooter and creating a safe environment for medical assistance to be brought in to aid the injured. . . .

I have spoken recently about mass public shootings at the law school at the College of Charleston, and given that it was my topic, I checked out the security measures at the school.  There were no metal detectors present, just a reliance on armed campus security.

The media generally ignores that these attacks keep occurring where guns are banned, instead concentrating on how the killer obtained the gun or the weapon used. Yet, it is very hard to stop people who are planning these attacks over 6 months in advance from getting a weapon. Background checks and other "solutions" wouldn't stop these attacks that are being used to motivate the laws.

"His mom had taken the gun from him and somehow he went back and took it from her."

(We have previously noted that Greta's show on Fox News interviewed one of the killer's friends who had said that the killer had stolen the gun he used from his mom without her knowing it.)

Vince Vaughn explains the obvious: how mass killers pick out venues where their victims are sitting ducks

From Vaughn's interview in the UK edition of GQ:

"It's well known that the greatest defence against an intruder is the sound of a gun hammer being pulled back. All these gun shootings that have gone down in America since 1950, only one or maybe two have happened in non-gun-free zones. Take mass shootings. They've only happened in places that don't allow guns. These people are sick in the head and are going to kill innocent people. They are looking to slaughter defenceless human beings. They do not want confrontation. In all of our schools it is illegal to have guns on campus, so again and again these guys go and shoot up these f***ing schools because they know there are no guns there. They are monsters killing six-year-olds."

Media Matters attacks Vaughn by pointing to flawed a report by Bloomberg's Everytown, but of course, Media Matters does respond or even acknowledge all the errors that have been previously pointed out with Bloomberg's report.  See also here.

Mass Public Shooting in Naples, Italy: Killing four (may be five) people and wounding at least five more

It is very unlikely that you have heard of this story.  Article from the UK Daily Mail:

A man armed with a shotgun opened fire in the southern Italian city of Naples, killing four people and wounding at least five more. 

The 48-year-old nurse, Roberto Murolo, killed first his brother and sister-in-law at home, according to Italian police, before killing two more members of the public after he began shooting from the balcony.  

Early reports indicate that he may also have killed his wife in the attack, in the Secondigliano suburb, although these reports have not yet been confirmed.

Concealed Handgun Permit holders in South Carolina stop a mass public shooting

FOX Carolina 21 From the news article:

Firefighters said they may have stopped a massacre after a gunman surprised them at their station Tuesday. 

The Aiken County Sheriff's Office said deputies responded to the New Holland Fire Department's Station 2 around 6:30 p.m. for a report of shots fired. 

Firefighters said Chad Barker pulled up to the crowded fire station parking lot full of children and firefighters, got out of his car, and began firing in the air and at his vehicle. They say he also pointed the firearm at individual firefighters for lengthy periods of time.   

"I came out of the office, saw the man with the gun, told everybody to leave out the back quickly that there was a man in the parking lot with a gun, and I was not kidding,” said Gary Knoll, a firefighter for New Holland. 

Knoll said he and another firefighter who have concealed weapons permits pulled their guns on the gunman. 

Knoll said Barker returned to his vehicle and firefighters carefully followed him with their weapons still drawn. After encouraging Barker to put the gun down, Knoll said Barker ultimately complied and Knoll grabbed the gun. . . . .

Hat tip to AWR HAWKINS for finding this story.