Death toll could have been higher...

But in Rockdale County, Georgia, a good guy with a gun happened to be in the chosen path of a bad guy who was hell-bent on doing some killing. 

From the Rockdale Citizen:

A customer who fired back at the suspect who killed two people in a Ga. Highway 20 liquor store Sunday afternoon is being hailed as a hero. 

Rockdale County Sheriff Eric Levett said at a press conference Monday that Todd C. Scott, 44, a resident of Covington, very likely prevented other customers in the store from losing their lives. 

Levett said store video from Magnet Bottle Shop showed that the suspect, Jeffrey Scott Pitts, 36, came in the store Sunday afternoon firing a handgun. 

“I believe that if Mr. Scott did not return fire at the suspect then more of those customers would have hit by a gun,” said Levett. “It didn’t appear that he cared who he shot or where he was shooting until someone was shooting back at him. So in my opinion he saved other lives in that store.”

Those targeted by criminals on't have the advantage criminals have. Criminals pick the time and venues in which they strike. Those targeted often have to react without prior warning, using only the means they have at hand.