For Release: Thursday, September 27, 2012
Washington, DC–At least 471 people, including 14 law enforcement officers, have been killed in incidents not ruled self-defense involving private citizens legally allowed to carry concealed handguns according to the September update of the Violence Policy Center’s (VPC) Concealed Carry Killers on-line resource (http://concealedcarrykillers.org/).
VPC Legislative Director Kristen Rand states, “The tragic deaths included in Concealed Carry Killersare only anecdotes that represent a much larger problem. The public is left in the dark about the true extent of the damage done by people permitted to walk the streets with hidden handguns. We need reliable, comprehensive data on how many innocent people are paying with their lives for misguided laws that encourage people to carry guns in public places.”
The Violence Policy Center’s Concealed Carry Killers database documents 350 incidents in 32 states since May 2007. In more than three quarters of the incidents (279) the concealed carry killer has already been convicted (107), committed suicide (165), or was killed in the incident (seven). Of the 62 cases still pending, the vast majority (49) of concealed carry killers have been charged with criminal homicide, five were deemed incompetent to stand trial, and eight incidents are still under investigation. An additional nine incidents were fatal unintentional shootings involving the gun of the concealed handgun permit holder. Twenty-two of the incidents were mass shootings, resulting in the deaths of 97 victims.
Because most state systems that allow the carrying of concealed handguns in public by private citizens release little data about crimes committed by them, the primary source for Concealed Carry Killers is published news reports. It is likely that the actual number of fatal incidents involving citizens legally allowed to carry concealed handguns is far higher.
A detailed summary of each of the 350 incidents is available at http://concealedcarrykillers.org/, clicking on each category leads to a state-by-state breakout for the incidents with current known status. To review all deaths involving concealed carry killers, click on “Total People Killed by Concealed Carry Killers.”
About the Violence Policy Center
The Violence Policy Center is a national educational organization working to stop gun death and injury. Follow the VPC on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
