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Antioch, Tennessee Church Shooting: It Should Have Been A Defensive Gun Use

Robert Farago - comments No comments

Yesterday’s shooting in an Antioch, Tennessee church ended when 22-year-old usher Caleb Engle (above) struggled with the gunman, causing the killer’s pistol to discharge into his own chest. “After the struggle, Engle exited the sanctuary, got a gun from his vehicle and guarded the shooter until police arrived,” tennessean.com reports.

A Somali refugee named Emanuel Kidega Samson (above) began his homicidal rampage by shooting and killing 39-year-old Melanie Smith. The murder occurred in the church’s parking lot as she exited the church.

Presumably, someone inside the church would have heard the gunfire and could have prepared to defend the parishioners from the ensuing attack.

In case it’s important, Mr. Engle, the brave soul who who went hands-on with the killer, was licensed to carry a concealed weapon. What is important: as far as we know, neither Engle nor any of the people inside the church were armed at the time of the attack.

In the aftermath of the shooting, Nashville’s Police Chief promised to help any church or organization that wants to prepare a defense against a similar attack. He danced around the issue of an armed defense.

Regardless of the way this particular incident went down, the fact remains that the best way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. (Not to coin a phrase.)

As always, the blame for this horrific crime rests squarely on the killer’s shoulders. But once again, it should have been a defensive gun use.

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Robert Farago

Robert Farago is the former publisher of The Truth About Guns (TTAG). He started the site to explore the ethics, morality, business, politics, culture, technology, practice, strategy, dangers and fun of guns.

0 thoughts on “Antioch, Tennessee Church Shooting: It Should Have Been A Defensive Gun Use”

  1. Interesting that player in London took the knee for the National Anthem but stood for “God Save the Queen”, an anthem of a country which condoned slavery for hundreds of years, practiced unbridled Colonialism and oppressed the Scots and Irish. Need a history lesson, boys?

    Reply
  2. Ideas have consequences.

    The idea that we live in a completely “civilized” society is a deadly one.

    It furthers the wrong ideas that we are basically “safe” and “secure” at any given time.

    Now I know statistically that any one person is very unlikely to get assaulted or robbed or potentially murdered, but that precludes the fact that it *could* happen at any moment.

    And Evil has the upper hand always because the person deciding to do the heinous act has already thought about it and planned it and prepared for it. So if you’re walking around thinking you’re “safe” then you haven’t done any mental or physical preparation to even be able to successfully react.

    Ideas have consequences.

    Reply
  3. “it’s so important to keep demanding that women … get a seat at the table.” That’s sexist and probably misandrist right there. She is advocating that “seats at the table” be divided on the basis of gender.

    Shannon Watts is a bigot and, according to the left’s own rules, should be ignored completely or punished.

    Reply
  4. Seventeen tweets from America’s President about NFL football!
    When will those silly Americans stop obsessing about their sports and start handling real problems around the world?

    Reply
  5. Lets see; black shooter, white victims. Should get the same press treatment as a white shooter with black victims right? I’m not holding my breath.

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  6. .45-70 Government holds no allure for me, but .30 WCF is a whole different kettle of fish. I’ll probably end up buying another old Winchester M94 because I’m not a fan of Henry-style tube loading and old (quality) Marlins are getting very rare and hard to find.

    But dayum, that Henry is purdy.

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  7. I don’t think much of light snubs in .357, but a steel framed 4″ or longer has enough inertia that I don’t think the recoil of medium loads slow me down much. I am comparing it to my speed with my Five SeveN, so I know what an easily controlled gun feels like. 158s at 1260fps from my 5.25″ 40oz gun are easier for me to fire quickly than 124s at a bit under 1100fps from my father’s 9mm Shield. I load A-Frames and when they (which they always do) expand to .55″ I get about 21″ of penetration in clear gel so I suppose that some would consider that too much penetration but find it comforting.

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    • It seems to me that a lot of that is just the weight of the gun. 40 oz is a big honkin piece of iron that will absorb a lot of recoil. 9 mm is similarly sensitive to gun weight. My kids find my 3.5″ 16 oz Kahr “bright” and a bit hard to control, compared to a 4″ XD or Glock, but once you hit 30 oz. the 124s are quite mild. I have to assume, never having tried it, that 147 gr +Ps out of a lightweight 3″ gun (say a 14 oz Kahr CM9 or the Glock 43) would be a real handful, although not nearly as bad as a .357 snubbie.

      Reply
  8. Looks like the magnesium was only just for show, as it doesn’t do anything else. Furthermore, it wasn’t very noticeable, that makes it to me – a waste of time.

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  9. Because everybody knows crime was much worse in 1917 than it is in 2017, and it’s all due to the NFA.

    I’ve heard that during WWI, nearly 10% of Chicago residents had to lock their doors at night…glad that doesn’t happen now…

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  10. It would be better to hold those that compel the cop to disarm legally liable for the consequences resulting from failing to provide secure storage to the police and the CCW licensees. For example if a cop complies with a judge’s command to lock the gun in the car due to fearing being held in contempt for failure to comply then the judge should be held legally liable for any harm that results as well as any other costs from such a command. Also if a cop is commanded to leave the gun in the car when going into the state Congress then all members of the Congress should be held jointly liable for any harm as well as any other costs associated with complying with the command. If these anti-gun extremists insist on disarming the police then they should be held responsible for any consequences of it especially if they refuse to provide safe storage at the very least.

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  11. Im hearing all this talk about how weak 357 snubbys are ,but words and no numbers.4” to 2” looks like about 200fps give or take.So whats the beef?Lately I carry a G26 or a G 30 Or an SP101.They all fit in my front pocket of my bib overalls and nobody suspects a thing from this old fat man with a cane on oxygen.I dont want to be shot by any of them,even than out of date antiquated 357.

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  12. Don’t get your hopes up. Sen John Cornyn, Speaking at the Texas Federalist Society chapter annual meeting this weekend said that it would not be brought up for a vote in the senate because it didn’t have enough Republican votes.

    I, for one, would like to know who the rhinos are.

    Reply
  13. Podesta “Never let a good tragedy go to waste.” He was referring to using mass shooting to further the gun control agenda.

    It’s extremely misleading to single out the NRA for using tragedy to push an agenda.

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  14. If that’s a “Leftist P/O ” performing this so called ALICE training. Then he needs to turn in his pistol. If IT’S NOT available to a citizen (via 2nd amendment). Then it SHOULDN’T be available to him (via the 14th amendment.) Its mighty BIG of someone giving so called ALICE training to citizens (sheeple). By a Paramilitarizied government official who is armed with a sidearm, a radio, and the “thin-blue line behind him….”

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  15. A man pees outside, claims to have a dog chip in his head & then asks to speak with Mad Dog Mattis. Perhaps on some level, it makes sense.

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  16. I would love to know why the police confiscated ALL of this man’s guns when from all appearances nothing he did constituted a crime.He didn’t shoot anyone, his gun was unloaded, and he even got the perp to turn himself in without having to beat the kid to pulp. What is the reasoning here? that he had guns and this was an opportunity to take them away?

    Reply

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