BELLEVUE, WA – A terrifying attack at a Chinese elementary school Monday that left at least eight children dead is more proof that madmen determined to cause mayhem don’t need guns when their victims are helpless, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today.
“The attack at Chaoyangpo Elementary School in Hubei province was a horrific event,” CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb observed, “and it was reportedly carried out with a meat cleaver by a man who, according to one account, had served time in prison and was recently released. Nobody is calling for regulation of cutting tools, and we think this terrible crime should remind people that it is not the tool, but what is in the hearts of people who commit these heinous acts, that is really to blame.
“This unspeakable crime can also serve as a reminder to those who are always willing to blame the American firearms community for attacks at schools and other places that the United States is hardly the only nation where mass killings occur,” he added. “What happened Monday in central China was an inexplicable act of brutality against innocent youngsters, which can be said about any attack in any school, anywhere around the world.
“And let’s not forget,” Gottlieb noted, “that this was not an isolated incident. In January, an attack at a Beijing elementary school injured 20 children. In April 2018, nine people were killed in an attack outside of a middle school in Shaanxi province, and back in June of last year, a man fatally stabbed to children outside of an elementary school in Shanghai.
“We can overlook the political and cultural differences between our two nations and express shock and sorrow to the Chinese people, and especially the families of those children who were lost,” Gottlieb continued.
“However,” he said, “at the same time we must remember that one depraved individual appears to be responsible. It would be irresponsible on our part to blame Chinese society or even a segment of that country’s population for what happened. One person did this, and we are confident that he will be dealt with individually, rather than penalizing millions of Chinese citizens for a crime they did not commit.
“There might be a lesson in that for people in this country who rush to blame guns and punish all gun owners when some individual commits a terrible crime,” Gottlieb concluded.