Unlike the U.S., where all you need to acquire a gun is an ID and ride to Walmart, guns are strictly regulated in the Netherlands. Self-defense is not considered a valid reason for gun ownership; hunters or marksmen who apply for gun permits must undergo extensive background checks and long waiting periods; and any involvement in a violent incident—or even being charged with a DUI—will also result in your gun permit getting revoked. Plus, outside of the military, it's not legal to own or even shoot semi-automatic weapons. Gun ownership in the Netherlands is a privilege, not a right, and one that can easily be revoked. Perhaps because of these laws, when an alleged attacker entered a school in Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands, on Tuesday, he brought not guns, but knives, and instead of leaving the school with a trail of young dead bodies behind him, he was chased away by the students themselves.

According to the NL Times, the alleged attacker was a 44-year-old man who was known to police and has mental health issues. In the video of the incident below, you can see students chase the man off by throwing a backpack at him. The man was subsequently arrested, the police confiscated his two knifes, and commented that they are investigating additional mental health services for the perpetrator.

It's not hard to imagine this would have gone very differently in the U.S., where the president has called for more guns in schools and instead of passing actual gun control laws, school are banning backpacks instead.