The shocking stabbing attack in the Crossroads Center in St. Cloud on Saturday was stopped by an armed off-duty policeman, Jason Falconer, who happened to be in the right place at the right time to prevent more injuries and more serious injuries. This is being used by gun rights proponents as proof of the argument that the best way to stop a bad guy with a gun (or knife, in this case) is a good guy with a gun. They argue that allowing more citizens to walk around with guns is the best way to stop violence.

We’d argue, however, that Jason Falconer is hardly your average citizen with a gun. He is not only a trained police officer, he is an expert on firearms who offers classes to those who want a license to carry, and even trains other police officers on handling shooting situations. Not only was he in the right place at the right time, he was the right man in the right place at the right time.

Obviously, in this case a good guy with a gun stopped a bad guy, and we should all be grateful. We have confidence in Falconer and people like him, with his level of training. We’re not so sure about the average citizen who has gone through the minimum training to get a gun license who is confronted with a life and death situation.