Purdue Univ. researcher: More guns in schools equal fewer deaths

Professor Eric Dietz, Ph.D., the former director of Homeland Security for the state of Indiana and 22-year Army veteran, has released research showing that more guns in schools equal fewer deaths during active shooter situations.

As reported by The Blaze.com, Dietz, now a professor at Purdue University and director of the school’s Homeland Security Institute, could be the guy who — once and for all — destroys the left’s argument against putting more guns in schools.

From the article:

At the 2014 National Rifle Association convention in Indianapolis on Friday, Dietz told TheBlaze that he set out to determine what realistic measures could be taken to reduce deaths during school shootings. Using an “agent-based modeling” method that he says is as straight forward as it gets, Dietz and the university were able to conclude that the “introduction of a minimal (10%) armed faculty in conjunction with [a] resource officer” could reduce overall casualties in school-related shootings by roughly 70 percent.

Since the 1950s, all but two mass shootings have occurred in locations where victims were restricted from carrying weapons for self-defense, his work says. This stunning statistic led the university to question the effectiveness of so-called “gun free zones.”

The methodology of the research is fairly simple and rooted in common sense, Dietz claims. It takes into account four separate scenarios involving an active shooter:

• Scenario 1: No access to control or security.
• Scenario 2: Resource officer
• Scenario 3: 5-10 percent of work force has concealed carry
• Scenario 4: 5-10 percent of work force has concealed carry and a resource officer

In scenario one, potential victims of a school shooting must rely only on police. On average, police response time is roughly 10-12 minutes. Accordingly, an “active shooter” generally shoots someone every 20 seconds, Dietz explained, citing his research.

“That’s a really long time for a killer,” he told TheBlaze.

The research found that the most critical element to reducing casualties in an active shooter situation at a school is “time,” Dietz said. Obviously, the less time a shooter has to carry out his twisted plan, the less people the shooter can kill.

The model created by Dietz and his students seemingly reveals a clear trend: More guns equals fewer casualties in an active shooter situation.

In the scenario where there is an armed resource officer, casualties dropped by 66.5 percent and response time was cut 59.5 percent. When five percent of teachers were carrying concealed weapons, deaths were reduced by 6.8 percent and response time dropped by 5.4 percent. When 10 percent of teachers were carrying concealed weapons, casualties fell by 23.2 percent and response time went down 16.8 percent.

However, the real reductions came when teachers carrying concealed firearms were supplemented with a resource officer, the results show.

In the scenario where five percent of teachers were carrying concealed guns and a resource officer was present, casualties dropped an astonishing 69.2 percent and response time dropped 59.7 percent. Finally, when 10 percent of teachers were carrying concealed firearms and a resource officer was present, casualties fell by 70.2 percent and response time was reduced by 62.7 percent.

According to the article, The National Center for Education Statistics estimates that 57 percent of public schools in the U.S. had no security staff present at any time during the school week in 2009-2010.

In any violent encounter, the faster you realize the threat and stop it, the better. Time is especially important during school shootings. The Purdue Univ. research proves what Tactical Defense Institute's John Benner, SEALE Training Academy's Ron Borsch, and Buckeye Firearms Association have been saying all along: faster response leads to fewer casualties.

Buckeye Firearms Foundation has launched a program to provide "active killer" training to Ohio teachers and administrators. The program is named F.A.S.T.E.R., which stands for Faculty/Administrator Safety Training and Emergency Response. Everyone agrees that safety training is important, but in active killer situation the "emergency response" must happen fast to save lives.

For detailed information, see our School Safety Information Page.

To support this program, click the donate button. Buckeye Firearms Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organization. Donations to the Foundation are tax-deductible.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Secretary, BFA PAC Vice Chairman, and an NRA-certified firearms instructor.