The month of August kicked off in devastating fashion for residents of Twin Falls, Idaho, when a rifle-wielding gunman opened fire on employees and patrons outside of In-N-Out Burger restaurant, killing three and injuring seven before taking his own life. Video quickly surfaced, however, of an armed bystander engaging the gunman during the rampage, advancing toward him while returning fire with his own suppressed pistol. Police have since praised the bystander—identified as 35-year-old healthcare worker Jordan Salinas—as a “hero,” crediting him with saving “many lives” by diverting the gunman’s attention and allowing potential victims to escape.
(Notably, two off-duty law enforcement officers also ran toward the sound of gunshots that day, risking death to protect the innocent. One of those off-duty officers, like Salinas, saved lives by exchanging gunfire with the suspect and forcing him into temporary retreat. The other tried to confront the suspect without a weapon and sustained a gunshot wound to the arm in the process.)
Salinas certainly demonstrated a level of uncommon courage in his efforts to protect others from grave danger. That doesn’t mean, however, that armed civilians like Salinas rarely make a difference in active shooter scenarios. In fact, this was far from the only time in recent memory that a “good guy with a gun” successfully intervened to save lives during an attempted mass casualty event. And, just as importantly, countless more Americans regularly rely on their Second Amendment rights to defend themselves and others in far more “ordinary” criminal encounters that never grab national headlines.
A 2013 report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledged that almost every study on the issue has found that between 500,000 and several million defensive gun uses occur every year in the United States. An extensive 2021 national survey conducted by a Georgetown professor further substantiated this reality, concluding that Americans used their firearms defensively an average of 1.2 million times a year.
Jordan Salinas’ actions quite deservingly captured the nation’s attention at the start of August. But many other incidents of armed self-defense by ordinary Americans flew under the radar in the weeks leading up to Salinas’ intervention. Here are just a handful of the other defensive gun use stories from around the country that occurred in July:
July 1, Venice, Fla. — A man forced his way into the apartment of a resident with whom he had an ongoing conflict, assaulted the resident, and threatened to shoot him while acting like he was armed with a gun. The man then tried to force the resident to leave the apartment against his will, but the resident was able to retrieve his own firearm from a bedroom. The two struggled over the resident’s gun before the resident fatally shot his assailant. Investigators say that video evidence from inside the resident’s apartment corroborated his account, and that the man had previously threatened him.
July 4, Pownal, Vt. — Police say that a resident shot and wounded a burglar in lawful self-defense after the burglar entered the home uninvited early in the morning and “engaged in a physical dispute” with the resident and another victim. The burglar faces criminal charges for the break-in.
July 5, Springfield, Mass. — An acquaintance drove to a couple’s home, initiated a physical altercation with the husband, and chased him around the property while threatening him with a handgun. The man’s wife believed the acquaintance intended to kill or seriously harm her husband and fatally shot him with her own legally possessed handgun. Local officials concluded the woman’s actions were legally justified after reviewing all available evidence, including doorbell camera footage and corroborating witness accounts.
July 8, Memphis, Tenn. — An armed driver returned fire in self-defense after gunmen in another vehicle shot at his car during a road rage incident, striking and injuring his passenger. Police are still looking for the five suspects, all of whom they believed to have been armed during the shootout.
July 10, Vallecitos, N.M. — During a domestic violence incident, a man allegedly showed up drunk to his girlfriend’s home, crashed his car through a gate, and tried to kick in the front door. He then assaulted his girlfriend and her elderly father when the two confronted him outside of the residence. The girlfriend’s son witnessed the assault, grabbed a rifle, and fatally shot the man in defense of his mom. Court records indicate that the man had a lengthy history of both criminal violence and alcohol abuse stretching back to at least 2020.
July 13, Tulsa, Okla. — Police say that a homeowner shot and wounded a man who came onto his property and threatened to kill him if he resisted the man’s attempt to steal his truck. The man then followed the homeowner into the residence when he tried to leave. The homeowner initially tried to defend himself with a baseball bat, but it proved unsuccessful and he was ultimately forced to fire his gun. The wounded assailant was treated at a hospital before being criminally charged for several assault- and robbery-related offenses.
July 17, Kootenai, Idaho — A woman’s ex-husband allegedly entered her house uninvited and began “acting in an aggressive manner,” including threatening the man with whom his ex-wife now lived. That man, fearing for his safety, retreated into his bedroom and armed himself with a handgun. The ex-husband followed him, grabbed him by the throat, and started to lift him from the ground before the man fatally shot him. Police didn’t arrest the armed victim, noting among other things that the ex-husband had threatened him on prior occasions, as well.
July 21, McCordsville, Ind. — Local officials concluded that a driver who fatally shot another motorist acted in self-defense during a road rage incident instigated by the other man. The second motorist had begun tailgating the armed driver at a dangerously close distance. When the two cars stopped for traffic controls in a construction zone, the tailgating motorist (who had a history of DUI and violence) immediately exited his car, aggressively confronted the armed driver, and threatened him and his female passenger. Witnesses said the armed driver opened fire only after his assailant continued advancing toward at him in a hostile manner despite knowing he was armed.
July 25, Macon, Ga. — A 20-year-old man arrived at his grandmother’s home uninvited, crawled under the garage door, and tried to forcibly drag his 18-year-old sister out into his car. The grandmother thwarted the attempted kidnapping by drawing a firearm and compelling the 20-year-old at gunpoint to release the victim, who ran back into the home. Police believe the siblings’ mother, who lost custody of the victim and her other minor children to their grandmother, orchestrated the kidnapping attempt.
July 27, Commerce, Texas — A habitual violent offender forced his way into a home and robbed multiple occupants at gunpoint, at one point even firing his gun at the victims. An armed resident returned fire, striking the robber and causing him to flee. Police shortly arrested the suspect, whose lengthy criminal history includes prior convictions for aggravated robbery, burglary, resisting arrest, multiple drug offenses, and check forgery. He now faces additional felony charges, including unlawful gun possession.
July 30, St. Louis, Mo. — An armed store clerk shot and wounded a would-be robber who tried to force his way behind the counter and into a “secured area.” Police said the clerk acted in self-defense and plan to file robbery charges against the wounded suspect.
Jordan Salinas is quite rightly receiving national attention for heroically employing his right to keep and bear arms for the benefit of complete strangers. His actions were the stuff of legend. And yet, we’d do well to remember that the Second Amendment exists as well for the unsung heroes like those armed civilians above, whose stories grabbed far fewer headlines, but who just as powerfully demonstrate the importance of armed self-defense.