As of this writing, the National Rifle Association (NRA) hasn’t weighed in on the high-speed train incident last week in Belgium. To be clear, the gunman seemed to be overwhelmed by three unarmed American passengers on the train, when it became clear the heavily armed assailant was ready to commit mass murder.
Fortunately, the loaded Kalashnikov slung over his shoulder malfunctioned and the Americans jumped on him, wrestling him to the floor. He had fired one shot from a handgun wounding a French citizen before he was subdued and hogtied. A British businessman also helped in the effort to avert a massacre.
It should be noted that none of the passengers carried weapons. Take note, NRA. The attempt was thwarted by the will and quick thinking of unarmed citizens. Had passengers been carrying firearms, many innocent people might have been caught in the crossfire.
To be fair, two of the Americans had military training: Alek Skarlatos, a National Guardsman from Oregon, and Spencer Stone, an Air Force serviceman. The third, Anthony Sadler, was a senior student at Sacramento State University studying physical therapy.
The assailant also carried five magazines in a backpack and what appeared to be a box cutter, with which he nearly severed Stone’s finger as they wrestled on the floor. Stone was treated at a local hospital where doctors reattached his finger.
Initial reports were, as usual, inaccurate. The participants told the real story to reporters at a press conference Sunday where they were honored by the French Interior Minister in Arras, a town in northern France where the train had been rerouted. The fracas originated as the train passed through Belgium on its route from Amsterdam to Paris.
In this country, the NRA reacts to every mass shooting with the same rhetoric: If there were more guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens, there would be fewer such incidents.
In this case, however, more armed passengers may have meant more injuries, possibly deaths. What it seems to take is a willingness to get involved, to protect others and to disarm an assailant. The military training probably empowered the two soldiers but Sadler was willing to come to the aid of his friends.
The suspect had been known to anti-terror police in Spain, where it is said he lived in 2004, and France, where he returned after a stay in Syria where he was suspected of being radicalized by extremists. As of Monday, he hadn’t disclosed where or how he acquired the weapons.
Authorities in Belgium and France say security on all trains will be tightened. Until now, passengers could board trains without baggage checks or metal detectors. It’s unknown if the gunman boarded the train with the Kalashnikov and sidearm in plain site or if they were hidden in his luggage.
Even though the suspect was known to anti-terrorist police, he hadn’t been diagnosed with a mental illness or detained in a mental hospital against his will. So he might have purchased the guns legally. However, the incidence of gun ownership in France (and throughout Europe) is much lower than in the U.S.
After a horrific sequence of school and movie theater shootings, many people (including President Obama) called for increased tightening of gun laws. All such efforts were thwarted by the NRA, which has enormous clout in the Congress.
Increasing intelligence, police work and better communication between the two authorities might be more effective than trying to disarm the gun lobby. But I’ve seen how well local law enforcement works in countries where officers are armed only with nightsticks.
Having lived for many years on a ranch where law enforcement and animal control officers were too far away to respond, I understand the need for guns. But I was always taught never to draw a weapon unless I was willing to kill someone. That never happened. I learned to rely more on a dog than a revolver for safety, and that guns are better used for dispatching rattlesnakes and rabid animals than humans.
Even the occasional bear would be safe on our land.
The NRA, to which my son and his father belonged, should stay away from the media and out of politics.