The failed response that, in part, led to the tragedy in Uvalde, Texas left self-righteous gun-grabbers with the impression that the notion of a “good guy with a gun” had been dispelled. So when a 22-year-old man was praised as a “good Samaritan” for stopping a murderer armed with a rifle at an Indiana mall, well, that narrative-busting reality was a little more than they could accept.
Three people were killed at Greenwood Park Mall in Indiana Sunday when a suspect opened fire in the food court. As previously reported, the suspect was stopped before further evil could be committed when a young man with a firearm of his own interceded and fatally wounded the suspect.
That young man has since been identified as Elisjsha Dicken of Seymour, IN, and while all evidence has indicated that his heroic actions averted untold tragedy, including praise from the Greenwood police chief James Ison who stated, “The real hero of the day is the citizen that was lawfully carrying a firearm in that food court who was able to stop the shooter almost as soon as he began,” umbrage was taken at any suggestion of Dicken being a “good Samaritan.”
22-year-old Elisjsha Dicken.
The hero who took down the mass shooter in the Greenwood, Indiana mall last night
He was legally carrying under under Indiana's Constitutional Carry law. pic.twitter.com/ZxDT0GzC11
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) July 18, 2022
Justin Kollar, the traffic anchor for CBS 4 took to Twitter shortly after praise for Dicken’s actions had started to spread to stand in opposition, “The term, ‘Good Samaritan’ came from a Bible passage of a man from Samaria who stopped on the side of the road to help a man who was injured and ignored. I cannot believe we live in a world where the term can equally apply to someone *killing* someone… my God.”
The term, “Good Samaritan” came from a Bible passage of a man from Samaria who stopped on the side of the road to help a man who was injured and ignored.
I cannot believe we live in a world where the term can equally apply to someone *killing* someone… my God. https://t.co/0a3sgzejzD
— Justin Kollar (@kollarjustin) July 18, 2022
While he would later go on to clarify that he did not mean to “discredit the heroic, life saving action” and noted that he was in fact “no biblical scholar,” Kollar argued “the Christ coined term [good Samaritan]” didn’t fit in light of “Christ’s action in Luke 22:49.” Kollar went on referencing the events in the Garden of Gethsemane after Judas had betrayed Jesus.
Let me be clear, my thoughts are not meant to discredit the heroic, life saving action an individual took in stopping the shooter.
While I’m no biblical scholar I believe the Christ coined term, G S, misses the mark in this context, especially after Christ’s action in Luke 22:49— Justin Kollar (@kollarjustin) July 18, 2022
Others didn’t bother to issue corrections and, instead, resorted to deleting their tweets after pushback, like comedian John Fugelsang who had written, “The Good Samaritan paid for an unknown immigrant’s health care out of pocket. The Good Samaritan did not shoot anyone. Jesus was not a fan of killing for any reason, including self-defense. But if these ammosexuals had ever read the Bible, they couldn’t support the GOP or NRA.”
So too did Shannon Watts, founder of the gun control group Moms Demand Action, challenging the idea that Dicken’s actions were what saved the day. “I don’t know who needs to hear this but when a 22-year-old illegally brings a loaded gun into a mall and kills a mass shooter armed with an AR-15 after he already killed three people and wounded others is not a ringing endorsement of our implementation of the Second Amendment,” she argued in a since-deleted tweet.
Deleted pic.twitter.com/IPOiMFKaUt
— Rob Romano (@2Aupdates) July 18, 2022
What Watts didn’t delete was her critique of Sen. Mike Braun (R-Ind.) who had issued a statement that read, “Praying for families of those killed in a senseless act of violence in Greenwood tonight, and grateful for the brave armed citizen who took action to stop the perpetrator and prevent further tragic loss of life.”
The activist reacted by stating, “A US Senator praises armed civilian who was forced to open fire in a crowded food court after the lax gun laws the Senator supports enable a civilian to access weapons of war, which he used to kill three people and wound three others. These gun battles are a feature,” she claimed, “not a bug.”
A US Senator praises armed civilian who was forced to open fire in a crowded food court after the lax gun laws the Senator supports enabled a civilian to access weapons of war, which he used to kill three people and wound three others.
These gun battles are a feature, not a bug. https://t.co/NRvPb1EZHU
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) July 18, 2022
Kris Brown, the president of Brady | United Against Gun Violence also pressed back against the “myth” of a “good guy with a gun.”
Here's what we're not going to do: continue to uplift the NRA myth of a "good guy with a gun."
Let me be clear: If more guns made us safer, America would be the safest country in the WORLD.
We need sensible gun laws, not vigilante safety nets. #GreenwoodMall #GunReformNow
— Kris Brown | President, bradyunited.org (@KrisB_Brown) July 18, 2022
What each of these activists failed to recognize was that Dicken was not some lone vigilante seeking his own form of justice. He was a guy reportedly out shopping with his girlfriend who saw a problem that had been ignored to the point of causing serious harm and, like a good Samaritan, stepped in to help.
As Michael Seifert, founder of Public Sq., wrote when compared to the mounting evidence against law enforcement in Uvalde, Texas for their failure to act sooner to stop the suspect at Robb Elementary School, “A 22-year-old guy with a pistol took out a mass shooter in Indiana last night but 400 police officers in Uvalde were somehow unable to do it. Yet the left claims everything will be better if we turn our guns over to the state.”
A 22-year-old guy with a pistol took out a mass shooter in Indiana last night but 400 police officers in Uvalde were somehow unable to do it. Yet the left claims everything will be better if we turn our guns over to the state.
— Michael Seifert (@realmichaelseif) July 18, 2022
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