The FBI’s new active-shooter report has a surprise

On July 30, the FBI released its annual report on active-shooter incidents, and the coverage went where you would expect: 34 attacks in 2025, a 42% increase over the year before, with 51 people killed and 115 wounded. All true. All worth knowing. Less noticed: 34 attacks were 21% below the five-year average of 43, and the five-year trend is downward.

Then there was the statistic almost nobody saw. Civilians intervened in seven attacks last year. In more than one in five incidents, people in the line of fire confronted the shooter. In 2024, civilians intervened in one out of 24 incidents. In a single year, the intervention rate rose roughly fivefold.

When seconds count, police are minutes away. You are your own first responder.

At a New