To the editor:

Vincent Muirhead is completely wrong that “More guns are needed” (March 16 letter to the editor). His experience, from his service in the Navy, with open space of the ocean, is very different from those who fought within the confined space of a city, and, I suppose, forest or jungle.

In World War Two, I fought for 63 days in a city. The sound of a gun firing is very loud, and it is difficult to judge where it is coming from. Also bullets ricochet widely, potentially hitting bystanders. In the confines of the building, you fire first and ask questions later or you are dead. Here the mass killer has the advantage because he (there was not yet “she”) does not care whom he kills. His opponent has to aim carefully. If he or she is armed only with a handgun, versus an assault rifle, her or his chances of surviving are very small. In the urban area, the most effective weapons are hand grenades, which in the war I used quite often. Perhaps we should arm our teachers, or even some older students with them? Of course, I am not being serious.