A guest on Fox News said “bystander apathy” is partially to blame for the deadly shooting in Midtown, Manhattan on Monday night.
Shane Tamura, 27, of Las Vegas, was armed with an AR-15 when he went inside a Midtown Manhattan building, opened fire and killed four people. He then killed himself, Mediaite reported.
Retired NYPD Officer Bill Stanton pointed to a photo of Tamura with a rifle walking into the building.
Stanton said people need to be proactive if they see something like this happens.
“We see it again,” Stanton said to Sean Hannity. “And there’s talk of more police officers. There’s talk of, you know, more omnipresence… But we need to deputize ourselves. Sean, let’s take you as an example. My understanding is you train really hard in MMA. I’m guessing you train with your firearm, as well.”
Hannity said he does.
“We each need to empower ourselves not to be a victim,” Stanton continued, saying he and Hannity would have been in a position to stop the perpetrator.
“Bystander apathy is what occurred, is the term used as this gentleman walked– this cretin walked with a long gun down the street. No one said anything. I’d be curious to see how many 9-1-1 calls were made. We need to empower ourselves, deputize ourselves. If you would’ve seen that person, I guess you would’ve acted a lot different, as would have I,” Stanton said. “These businesses that have security in the lobbies, there’s a knee-jerk reaction. They may enhance it, but they do a cost-benefit analysis, and it’ll go right back to the same.”
He then offered support to police officers and criticized the “defund the police” movement.
“Only when we respect police officers, when respect is given back to the police officers, when we end this ‘defund the police,’ when we end the sending in therapists or counsellors, will people respect and yes, be slightly afraid that I might get taken out before I do anything,” he said. “We see this perpetrator, this sicko, as well as criminals all over Manhattan, all over the country, not respecting the law, feeling they can do what they want. Only when we collectively push back, fight back, and act will this lesson hopefully stop.”
Hannity agreed, saying people need to be more aware.
“Yeah, it’s sad,” Hannity said. “I do think people need situational awareness. And you know, if you see something, say something. Make the phone call. Call the police. Try and get on top of it.”
