Elisjsha Dicken Stops a Mass Shooting
Permitless carry for gun use took effect July 1 in Indiana. Did it save the day?
From today's WSJ.
"Police have now identified Elisjsha Dicken as the 22-year-old who stopped a mass shooting Sunday evening at an Indiana mall. At 5:56 p.m., a 20-year-old attacker exited a mall bathroom and began shooting a rifle into a food court. Three people were killed. Two others were wounded, including a 12-year-old girl. Yet it’s horrific to imagine how much worse this could have been.
The attacker, whose name we won’t give more notoriety, had several magazines and over 100 rounds of ammunition. He’d spent two years practicing at a firing range. But police said that Mr. Dicken swiftly drew his own pistol and engaged. He was at the mall in Greenwood, south of Indianapolis, shopping with his girlfriend, and he was legally carrying his weapon. Police recovered 24 rifle rounds, plus 10 from Mr. Dicken’s handgun.
Thanks to his quick action, the mass shooting ended within seconds. “I will say his actions were nothing short of heroic,” said Greenwood Police Chief James Ison. “He engaged the gunman from quite a distance with a handgun, was very proficient in that, very tactically sound, and as he moved to close in on the suspect, he was also motioning for people to exit behind him. To our knowledge, he has no police training and no military background.”
Mr. Dicken hasn’t spoken to the media yet, as far as we know, and not much else is public. “He is requesting you give him time to process and grieve,” Mr. Ison told the press. When he’s ready, give him the keys to the city. Going by the story police are telling, Mr. Dicken put himself in grave danger to save the lives of possibly dozens of strangers.
Mr. Dicken hasn’t spoken to the media yet, as far as we know, and not much else is public. “He is requesting you give him time to process and grieve,” Mr. Ison told the press. When he’s ready, give him the keys to the city. Going by the story police are telling, Mr. Dicken put himself in grave danger to save the lives of possibly dozens of strangers.
Only four months ago, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb signed a bill to allow carrying a handgun in public without a permit. Mr. Holcomb said the legislation, which took effect July 1, “entrusts Hoosiers who can lawfully carry a handgun to responsibly do so within our state.” One of those Hoosiers appears to have been Mr. Dicken. “We could not find that he had a permit,” Mr. Ison said. “He was carrying legally under the constitutional carry law.”
Many details remain hazy. The attacker’s motive hasn’t been established. Family members said he was in the process of being evicted. He apparently threw his cellphone into the mall toilet. The oven in his apartment was set to a high temperature and contained a laptop and a can of butane. In days to come, the public will learn more about how he purchased his guns and whether there were missed red flags.
But the police chief couldn’t have been clearer about Mr. Dicken’s heroism. “Many more people would have died,” Mr. Ison said, “if not for a responsible armed citizen that took action very quickly.” That’s worth meditating on for states like New York, which are trying to
make it all but impossible for responsible gun owners to take their weapons anywhere in public."
