I have studied the active killer phenomenon my entire adult life. There is absolute proof, based on the FBI’s active shooter database, that the amount of legitimate active killer attacks (not the gang-on-gang shootings the anti-gunners use to inflate the statistics) has exponentially increased. With that said, there is some good news, as 2024 and 2025 both saw a massive decrease in such events compared to the previous several years. I am convinced that one reason for the decrease is the large number of armed citizens roaming the streets. John Lott of the Crime Research Prevention Center estimates almost 30% of active shooters are actually stopped short by armed citizens, so this likely accounts for some of the recent mitigation, as these killers know they are more and more limited on viable attack sites that will be truly “gun free” ensuring no armed resistance.
In fact, just since the beginning of this year, I am aware of three incidents that would likely have been high body count massacres but were stopped by concealed carriers. All three, by the way, were rifle-armed bad guys being stopped by handgun-armed good guys: In Cambridge, Massachusetts, the convicted felon who started shooting at passing cars with a rifle was put down by a concealed carrier and a police officer. In Leesburg, Georgia, a man dressed in body armor with a rifle attacked a large family picnic after yelling racist slurs at them, and a family member at the picnic deployed his handgun and neutralized the monster before anyone was hurt. Now, just a week prior to this writing, the rifle-armed attacker at the In-and-Out restaurant in Idaho was stopped by a handgun-armed good guy. How many anecdotes are needed until we can call this a trend? All three of these incidents could have been a mass casualty event with dozens killed and wounded, but they were stopped quickly by concealed carriers. Last year, in 2025, there were also three such events that I am aware of.
it is clear that the active killer problem is one that should be considered by all concealed carriers. Twenty years ago it was an extremely unusual outlier event. I don’t think that we can call this an outlier any further. Yes, it is still far less common than more mundane criminal activity, but it is prevalent enough that the prepared citizen should consider it, and train for it.
A significant consideration, as it pertains to the increased possibility of facing active killers, should be the handgun you are carrying. Now, let’s get past the argument that a handgun-armed good guy can’t take on a rifle-armed killer; that talking point is long dead, along with all the rifle-wielding killers that are long dead from handgun fire. The handgun, in the hands of a skilled and committed user, gets the job done with shocking consistency. But, it is reasonable to choose gear that is more up to the task than less.
For many years I was perfectly content to walk around town in my daily life with a snub on me, if alone. If by myself there was a sense of less vulnerability, as getting out and away from trouble quickly as a lone male is feasible, and being even moderately fleet of foot, combined with a good 38 revolver, seemed to have most possibilities covered. However, when you have a spouse and children in tow, that changes the equation for being able to do anything quickly, let alone flee from a dangerous situation. It was always for this reason that the primary auto loader went on when going out to public, crowded places with the family. But if alone?
Is strapping on your primary gun really needed if you are just running to the In-and-Out Burger down the street? Its not like you will encounter an active shooter there, right? When we see these events play out over and over again it should be self-evident that they can, and do, happen anywhere, not just in locations that you would anticipate such a killer would target.
As Americans we have a rather unique ability, and basic human dignity, in most places within CONUS, to be able to protect ourselves. Carry the right tool to protect not only yourself, but your fellow man, as this heightened threat is no longer as uncommon as it once was. It is advisable to stay out of inter-personal violence happening between other parties and not expose yourself to such physical and legal risk. However, interdicting an active killer in the midst of rampage mass murder is a different animal and many will not walk away from that and leave innocent people to die. As such, carrying a gun you can fight that fight with, and make accurate shots at longer distances with, should be the constant baseline.
Reflex Handgun 
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