Time and time again, we keep saying that an armed citizen can make a huge difference. We routinely report on cases where that happens, but there’s something special about watching it happen.

Here’s a video that comes from Suzano, Brazil where an armed attacker pulled out a pistol and approached a group of people.

From there, things get interesting.

Warning Graphic Content

https://twitter.com/JTMYVA/status/995386564950810624

The bad guy goes down.

The good folks over at The Truth About Guns did a little background on the video already, and here’s what they found.

Here’s a (slightly awkward) Google translation from a Portuguese language news report.

A military off duty police officer, who had gone to a Mother’s Day celebration at the school where her daughter is studying in Suzano, shot a suspect in front of the unit. According to the Military Police, the 21-year-old suspect was carrying a .38 caliber revolver and had already approached other mothers awaiting the opening of the gate, as well as having searched the school’s security to see if he was armed.

It’s not clear what the man’s motive was when a approached the group and drew a gun.

A video that circulates through social networks shows the moment the suspect approaches a group of women and children and points the gun at a person. Right now, next to him, is the police officer, who pulls a gun and fires at the suspect. The people in front of the school run. The suspect falls to the ground and the policeman walks away. She approaches the suspect again, pushes the weapon he wears and surrenders.

Having taken at least one round center mass, this Brazilian criminal won’t be terrorizing any more women and children.

No, he won’t.

As TTAG notes above, we don’t know what the man’s motives were. However, I’m sure we can all agree that with a gun out, he wasn’t looking to talk to folks about how Jesus can become their own personal Lord and Savior.

Let’s call that a hunch.

We know his motives were not pleasant, and Brazil has a sky-high murder rate. Everyone standing there had a reason to fear for their lives.

Luckily, someone had a gun and could end the threat.

“Oh, but she was a police officer,” some gun grabber will argue. Yes, but ultimately, what do you think a “good guy with a gun” actually is? All that her police officer status means is that she got to carry a firearm in a country with strict gun control and a murder rate well up into the stratosphere. (Funny how those two go hand in hand, isn’t it?)

But police officers are a limited group. There’s only so many of them to go around, which is where the armed citizen comes in.

Part of why this country is relatively stable despite the massive differences in culture that exist within our borders is because so many people are lawfully armed. There’s a saying that comes up after people watch someone do something stupid. “That’s a good way to get shot,” they say, and that’s the secret.

A lot of people who might otherwise resort to crime opt to walk the straight and narrow, in part, because they fear the armed citizen more than the police.

This video is a testament as to why they do.