A recent analysis by the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC) reveals that armed civilians play a far larger role in stopping active shooter attacks in the United States than federal statistics indicate.
From 2014 to 2024, the FBI reported that civilians intervened in only 14 out of 374 active shooter incidents, a rate of 3.7 percent.
CPRC’s research, however, identified 561 instances during the same period, with armed citizens stopping 202 attacks—about 36 percent of all cases.
When incidents in designated “gun-free zones” are excluded, that number rises to 52.5 percent, highlighting a significant discrepancy in how civilian interventions are recorded.
Part of the discrepancy stems from how the FBI categorizes civilian interventions.
Some individuals who acted to stop shooters were recorded as “security guards,” even if they were private citizens.
Additionally, incidents in which suspects fled the scene were often omitted.
A notable example occurred in 2019 during a church shooting in White Settlement, Texas, where a parishioner shot and killed the gunman.
The FBI classified the response as the work of a security guard, though the man held no professional credentials.
CPRC President John Lott emphasized the difference between perception and reality.
“Law-abiding citizens stopping these attacks are