SAF, CCRKBA SEEK NATIONAL DIALOGUE ON POLICE, CCW AFTER ALABAMA TRAGEDY

BELLEVUE, WA – In the wake of last week’s tragic mistaken identity fatal shooting of an armed citizen in an Alabama shopping mall, the Second Amendment Foundation and Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms are calling for a national dialogue on how police respond to “active shooter” reports in public venues, such as malls, restaurants or movie theaters. Officers responding to a shooting at the Riverchase Balleria Mall in suburban Hoover apparently mistook Emantic F. Bradford, Jr., 21, as the suspected shooter. Mr. Bradford had a carry permit according to his family but investigators have declined to confirm that. He had drawn his pistol and was fatally shot. “There are more than 17 million gun owners in the United States who are licensed to carry concealed,” noted SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “In addition, there are untold numbers of legally-armed citizens in states where permits or licenses are not required for either concealed or open carry. In an active shooter incident, these citizens are well within their rights to act in self-defense or in defense of others, even when it means they draw a defensive sidearm but don’t immediately open fire.