The country music star most famous for his patriotic ballads about American soldiers and killing Taliban terrorists commented recently on the murder of nine churchgoers at a South Carolina bible study meeting, saying a good guy with a gun could have stopped the killing in its tracks.

"If there'd been an officer in there worshiping that day and he had his pistol, maybe seven or eight of those nine people would still be alive," Keith said during a runway interview at a recent awards show. "Sometimes there is a good sheepdog around when the wolf shows up."

Some have called for more gun control after the June 17 shooting, but reports indicate the alleged killer obtained his firearm from a licensed dealer and passed a criminal background check.

Keith argued gun laws don't stop killers, responsible gun owners do.

"There's countries all over the world that have really, really strict gun policies like ... Norway [and] it happens there," he said. "But thank God in America that sometimes you will have an officer or someone that can take care of it."