Live from Music Row Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed John Harris, founder of the Tennessee Firearms Association, in studio to weigh in on the recent mall shooting in Indiana that was cut short by a Good Samaritan and his Glock.
Leahy: We are joined right now in studio, our very good friend, an outstanding attorney and the founder and president of Tennessee Firearms Association, Mr. John Harris. Good morning, John.
Harris: Good morning. Thank you for having me.
Leahy: It’s always a delight to have you here in-studio. I’ll start off with a poll that was released on Monday by the Trafalgar Group. They’re very good pollsters, by the way.
And it’s covered at Just the News. Headline: “Americans trust armed citizens more than law enforcement to stop mass shooters, poll finds.” Well, I will add to that, John. Duh. (Laughter)
Harris: Exactly.
Leahy: So, talk to our audience about two recent instances in the news that illustrate that point, I think, dramatically. In Indiana at a mall, a 22-year-old armed citizen stopped and killed a mass murderer before he could do more damage.
And then, of course, the Uvalde, Texas debacle, where well over 300 law enforcement officers – I don’t know how to say this other than they cowered in the hallways for more than an hour as a gunman murdered 19 innocent schoolchildren and two schoolteachers. Your thoughts, John Harris.
Harris: There’s no doubt about it. And, you know, unfortunately, part of that problem, I think, comes from the trend and potential in law enforcement that they will step down and not engage.
We saw that in Nashville two years ago when the courthouse burned and Metro officers, the guys at patrol on the street, wear the blue, were there ready to defend the courthouse from the protesters …
Leahy: – mob –
Harris: … that John Cooper, our mayor, invited to come down and participate. And then they were ordered, as I understand it, to basically abandon the courthouse and let them have at it. But you saw that, as you indicated, the contrast between the mall shooter and Uvalde.
And it’s not necessarily a surprising situation that civilians can and will step up in situations where law enforcement either just can’t get there fast enough or they’re not already on the scene.
Or when they do get there, like in Uvalde, they’ve got such a chain of command and operating procedures and policies that they don’t know anymore whether or not to shoot, after the lawsuits we’ve seen in the last 10 years with officers who do use force and sometimes use too much force, all of a sudden are criminally prosecuted, like Delke was, civilly prosecuted for damage claims in the millions of dollars. Again, like Delke was, officers are put in a tough situation.
Leahy: John, I got to read this story from a local news station in Louisville. You’re not going to believe this. The Indiana man who was praised for quickly ending the rampage of a mass shooter was breaking mall rules on Sunday when he entered the building with a firearm.
A statement posted to the Greenwood Park Mall website says “we grieve for the victims of yesterday’s horrific tragedy at the Greenwood Park Mall. Violence has no place in this or any other community.
We are grateful for the strong response of the first responders, including the heroic actions of the good Samaritan who stopped the suspect.”
Authorities said 22-year-old Elisjsha Dicken of Seymour, Indiana, was shopping at the mall with his girlfriend when a gunman fired into the food court.
Dicken shot his pistol – apparently, it was a Glock – 10 times before the gunman collapsed from his wounds, attempting to retreat to the mall restrooms. That’s what stopped more killings there.
Harris: At a distance of an estimated 40 yards.
Leahy: That’s impressive for a 22-year-old kid with no military background or no police training. That makes the point, doesn’t it?
Listen to the interview:
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Tune in weekdays from 5:00 – 8:00 a.m. to The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Talk Radio 98.3 FM WLAC 1510. Listen online at iHeart Radio.
Photo “Greenwood Park Mall” by Greenwood Park Mall.Â
