Editor’s Note: The following letter to the editor of the Columbus Dispatch was submitted by Buckeye Firearms Association’s Jim Irvine and published on December 28, 2013 in response to a letter written by Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence founder Toby Hoover, in which she attempted to dismiss the importance of Buckeye Firearms Association’s survey which revealed that dozens of Ohio schools are now authorizing concealed carry for certain people.

In last Saturday’s letter, “Arming staff endangers students,” Toby Hoover made many incorrect statements leading to the wrong conclusion about school safety. Looking at actual events, we see that an armed response is the only reliable way to stop an active killer.

On Dec. 13, a lone attacker walked into Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colo., intent on doing harm. He carried a shotgun, 125 rounds of ammunition, a machete and Molotov cocktails.

He intended to kill many people but failed. His lone casualty was 17-year-old senior Claire Davis.

Colorado’s new gun-control laws failed to stop the killer from acquiring his gun. The ban on standard-capacity magazines had no effect on the shotgun or bandolier full of shells he wore.

Any steps taken to identify the killer and intervene failed. Controlling the entry point to the school, keeping the killer outside and partitioning off the building failed. Every preventive measure failed.

That is not to say they are not important, but in this particular event, they all failed. The same was true in Sandy Hook Elementary School.

The critical difference between Sandy Hook and Centennial was an armed responder inside the building. This is precisely what security experts have suggested for years.