CNN Data: In Shall Issue Concealed Carry States 82% Of Worst Public Mass Shootings Take Place In Gun Free Zones

I recently came across this article from CNN listing the worst mass shootings in US history.  Most were public mass shootings.  I was immediately curious.  I wondered what the impact of concealed carry was.  So, I carefully checked each incident to determine if:

1) The shooting took place in public
2) The shooting took place in a state that was, at the time, a “shall issue” concealed carry state
3)  The shooting took place in a location where lawful care was banned

Items 1 and 2 reduced the number of incidents to 11.  These are the 11 worst public mass shootings that took place in states where concealed carry was available to average citizens.  Of these incidents – provided by CNN – 82% (9 of 11) – took place in locations where licensed citizens are forbidden to carry.

It should be noted that so called “gun free zones” constitute a tiny percentage of locations open to the public.  For instance, in my state, gun free zones are so uncommon that I have only seen four such locations in  the last 18 months.  Although other states have more so called “gun free zones”, they do not constitute anywhere near 82% of public locations.  Any thinking person must therefore conclude that the risk of a mass shooting is much higher in locations where lawful carry is prohibited.


Methodology: In an effort to be as fair and accurate, I removed two categories of shooting incidents:

First, I removed incident that took place in a state that does not, or did not at the time of the incident, have a policy of issuing carry permits to anyone who passes the training and background checks.  In these states, a would be mass shooter would have little fear of encountering an armed citizen – and therefore would not factor this into his target selection.  This required me to research when shall issue concealed carry began in the state in question.  Since CNN went back to 1949, many incidents took place before lawful concealed carry was common.  If I had included these incidents it would skewed the statistics towards gun free zones appearing to be even more dangerous.  

Second, I eliminated domestic shootings.  As tragic as they are, concealed carry is not likely to affect target selection in any way.  Some incidents began as domestic shootings and continued into public settings.  I included these incidents.  Had any of the incidents been gang related I would have removed them as well – but none appeared in the article.

This left 11 incidents from the CNN article that took place in a “shall issue” state.  I then researched the laws in each state, as well as the policies of businesses or government agencies in charge of the space in which the shooting took place in order to determine if the location where the shooting took place was a “gun free zone” in which lawful carry was not permitted.

Text from the CNN article is in quotes.

Text in red and/or caps is my explanation of how I determined that the location was or was not in a "gun free zone".

Incident 1: “At least 49 killed - June 12, 2016 - Omar Saddiqui Mateen, 29, opens fire inside Pulse, a gay nightclub, in Orlando, Florida. At least 49 people are killed and more than 50 are injured. Police shoot and kill Mateen during an operation to free hostages officials say he was holding at the club.”  LAWFUL CARRY BANNED DUE TO BAN ON CARRY IN LOCATIONS SERVING ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES - EVEN IF PERSON CARRYING DOES NOT DRINK. 

Incident  2: “32 killed - April 16, 2007 - Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. A gunman, 23-year-old student Seung-Hui Cho, goes on a shooting spree killing 32 people in two locations and wounds an undetermined number of others on campus. The shooter, Seung-Hui Cho then commits suicide.”  LAWFUL CARRY BANNED ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES.  

Incident  3: “13 killed - November 5, 2009 - Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan kills 13 people and injures 32 at Fort Hood, Texas, during a shooting rampage. He is convicted and sentenced to death.’  LAWFUL CARRY BANNED DUE TO ARMY POLICY AND AN EXECUTIVE ORDER ISSUED BY PRESIDENT CLINTON.  

Incident  4: “12 killed - July 20, 2012 - Twelve people are killed and 58 are wounded in a shooting at an screening of the new Batman film. James E. Holmes, 24, is taken into custody outside of the movie theater. The gunman, dressed head-to-toe in protective tactical gear, set off two devices of some kind before spraying the theater with bullets from an AR-15 rifle, a 12-gauge shotgun and at least one of two .40-caliber handguns police recovered at the scene.”  LAWFUL CARRY BANNED DUE THEATER POLICY - SHOOTER SELECTED THE ONLY THEATER IN THE AREA WITH NO GUNS SIGNS.  

Incident  5: “12 killed - July 29, 1999 - In Atlanta, 44-year-old Mark Barton kills his wife and two children at his home. He then opens fire in two different brokerage houses killing nine people and wounding 12. He later kills himself.  NOT IN GUN FREE ZONE.

Incident  6: ‘9 killed - October 1, 2015 - Gunman Christopher Sean Harper-Mercer shoots and kills nine people, injuring another nine, at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon. The shooter dies after a gun battle with police at the college. Six weapons were recovered at the school; another seven were recovered at Harper-Mercer's home.”  LAWFUL CARRY BANNED DUE TO ORDER ISSUED BY NEW COLLEGE PRESIDENT A FEW MONTHS BEFORE INCIDENT.  Note: Many news and “fact checking” organizations got this wrong because it appears that state law allows carry – but the law and court rulings allow colleges to ban guns in buildings, effectively banning carry.  This article got it right.  

Incident 7: “9 killed - June 17, 2015 - Dylann Roof, 21, shoots and kills nine people inside the historic Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, in Charleston, South Carolina. Eight die at the scene; a ninth dies at a hospital. Roof is arrested the following day; according to police, he confesses and tells investigators he wanted to start a race war.”  LAWFUL CARRY BANNED IN ALL HOUSES OF WORSHIP WITHOUT SPECIAL PERMISSION FROM "CHURCH GOVERNING BODY" - WHICH WAS NOT IN EFFECT.  

Incident  8: “9 killed - March 21, 2005 - Red Lake High School, Red Lake, Minnesota. 16-year-old Jeff Weise kills his grandfather and another adult, five students, a teacher and a security officer. He then kills himself.”  LAWFUL CARRY IN SCHOOLS  BANNED BY STATE LAW.  

Incident  9: “9 killed - June 18, 1990 - In Jacksonville, Florida, 42-year-old James Pough, angry about his car being repossessed, opens fire at a General Motors Acceptance Corp. office, killing nine people. Pough takes his own life.”  LAWFUL CARRY LIKELY BANNED BY CORPORATE POLICY.  I searched extensively for information one way or the other as to GMAC’s gun policy, without success.  However, nearly every large corporation has a policy forbidding employee carry.  I therefore counted this location as a gun free zone.

Incident  10: “8 killed - March 29, 2009 - In Carthage, North Carolina, 45-year-old Robert Stewart kills a nurse and seven elderly patients at a nursing home. In May, the Moore County district attorney announces she will seek the death penalty. On September 3, 2011, a jury finds Stewart guilty of second-degree murder. Stewart is sentenced to 141 to 179 years in prison.”  NOT IN GUN FREE ZONE.

Incident  11: 8 killed - December 5, 2007 - In Omaha, Nebraska, 19-year-old Robert Hawkins goes to an area mall and kills eight shoppers before killing himself.  LAWFUL CARRY BANNED BY MALL/STORE POLICY, SHOOTER IS SEEN ON SURVIALLENCE SEARCHING FOR, AND FINDING, A "NO GUNS" SIGN.  HE THEN RETURNED TO HIS CAR FOR HIS GUN.     Video of shooter entering to check for sign, then coming back with his weapon.