HERO: Off-Duty Jail Officer Saves Innocents from Charging Gunman

QUEENS, NY — A madman armed with a gun coming at a group of pedestrians walking in Queens, New York earlier this month was greeted with a hail of gunfire when an off-duty correctional officer saw his insane charge and took action, the New York Daily News reports.

He was put down before a single innocent was injured.

As the New York Daily News reports:

A city jail officer fired several rounds at a gunman who was running toward a group of people on a Queens street early Sunday, officials said.

The 27-year-old officer, who was off-duty, told cops that he was standing on Steinway St. near 28th Ave. in Astoria at about 2 a.m. when he saw an armed man charging the group and shooting, police said. The correction officer whipped out his personal firearm, a Glock 26, and fired two shots at the gunman, who ran off, according to Correction Department records.

It is unclear whether the jail officer was in the group allegedly targeted by the gunman. There were no injuries. Police recovered nine shell casings from the scene, authorities said.

Fat chance that anyone else in the group of people would be armed — in the Big Apple, concealed carry permits are a more scarce commodity than genuine discounted Rolex watches.

No matter where you are and which citizens are armed, however, the axiom holds true — a good guy with a gun will always be the best immediate counter to a bad guy with the same. It’s especially true with our off-duty finest, whose training is just as handy off the clock as it is on.

If more news outlets would report on events like this, there would be less of a push to get firearms out of the hands of hardworking, law-abiding Americans — I’d bet money on it.

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