The knife attack that killed two on London Bridge Friday was ended by bystanders subduing the attacker with weapons that included a narwhal tusk and a fire extinguisher. As tragic as the murder of two people is, it’s nonetheless staggering that a group of people was able to join in the fight back—and survive.

Knives, it turns out, are less dangerous to crowds of people than are assault weapons. No matter what Donald Trump tells you.

“I recently read a story that in London, which has unbelievably tough gun laws, a once very prestigious hospital right in the middle is like a war zone for horrible stabbing wounds,” Trump said in 2018. “They don’t have guns. They have knives, and instead there’s blood all over the floors of this hospital.”

Yeah, London has attacks where two people die and narwhal tusks and fire extinguishers help end things. The U.S. has mass shootings where dozens of people may die and where the rare case where a bystander—or a police officer—is able to subdue a shooter without more deaths is a national story for days. For that matter, we barely even consider it newsworthy if a shooting kills only two people. The horror of the London Bridge attack shows how bad things are in the U.S.

Editor's note: If you haven't seen the description of what happened, take a couple of minutes and watch this video:

The Chief Executive of Fishmonger's Hall pays tribute to the bravery his staff showed during the London Bridge attack. #BBCBreakfast pic.twitter.com/OtAoKOggcw

— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) December 2, 2019

Published with permission of Daily Kos