Unless you’ve been camping the whole weekend, you couldn’t have missed what transpired in Paris on Friday the 13th.
The terrorist attacks that shook the French capital were terrible and as we’ve learned, they were organized by ISIS. It is horrific what these Muslims are doing around the world and the worst part is that we’re letting even more of them come into our country, thanks to our “commander in chief”.
If you watched the news, you know that the most people killed, were the ones in the concert hall. This hit the mark too close to home for my tastes, as America averaged in 2015 one mass shooting each day. So these things happen quite often and we need to learn what to do in order to survive.
Mass shootings in America have taken place at schools, movie theaters, shopping malls, offices, and essentially any sort of public venue full of people you can imagine. The reason behind these shootings can be anything from a cultural/religious one to your garden-variety nut job.
Law enforcement calls these perpetuators: active shooters and the Department for Homeland Security defines them as:
An Active Shooter is an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area; in most cases, active shooters use firearms(s) and there is no pattern or method to their selection of victims.
Active shooter situations are unpredictable and evolve quickly. Typically, the immediate deployment of law enforcement is required to stop the shooting and mitigate harm to victims.
Because active shooter situations are often over within 10 to 15 minutes, before law enforcement arrives on the scene, individuals must be prepared both mentally and physically to deal with an active shooter situation.
Active shooter situations are becoming more frequent.
The truth of the matter is that active shootings are way too unpredictable, so we need to be more vigilent and more aware of our surroundings all the time. There is virtually no way to prevent a mass shooting safe for see the shooter and taking him out before anything starts, but there some precautionary steps to take which can improve your survival chance:
- Wear comfortable clothes and shoes. Unless you are attending an evening ball with a black tie dress code, as much as possible wear clothes that provide you with mobility and shoes that are easy to run with.
- Don’t be a peacock. This means your clothes should have neutral colors that don’t stand out in a crowd. While it’s true that there’s no pattern to the shooters victims, are you sure you want to be the guy in bright red in a sea of black, white and grey?
- Keep an eye out for exits. Constantly identifying emergency exits and routes as you move through public areas will provide you with a quick plan of escape in case something happens.
- Concealment and cover. While at work or in a public place that you often frequent, try to look and remember the location of different spots that can provide you with concealment (hiding place that provides protection from sight, but not bullets) and/or cover (hiding place that provides protection from both)
- Know what gunfire sound like. Trust me it’s not like in the movies. Each type of weapon has a distinct sound when it fires.
These are all things that you should do before any hint of a mass shooting, because when the bullets start flying, according to the DHS, there are only 3 option available to you in this order:
- If there is an accessible escape path, attempt to evacuate the premises.
- Have an escape route and plan in mind
- Evacuate regardless of whether others agree to follow, but always take your loved ones with you
- Run in zig-zag to avoid being shot
- Leave your belongings behind
- Help others escape, if possible
- Prevent individuals from entering an area where the active shooter may be
- Keep your hands visible
- Follow the instructions of any police officers
- Do not attempt to move wounded people
- Call 911 when you are safe
- If evacuation is not possible, find a place to hide where the active shooter is less likely to find you
- Be out of the active shooter’s view
- Provide protection if shots are fired in your direction (i.e., an office with a closed and locked door)
- Not trap you or restrict your options for movement or escape
- To prevent an active shooter from entering your hiding place lock the door
- Blockade the door with heavy furniture
- Silence your cell phone and/or pager
- Turn off any source of noise (i.e., radios, televisions)
- Hide behind large items (i.e., cabinets, desks)
- Remain quiet
- As a last resort, and only when your life is in imminent danger, attempt to disrupt and/or incapacitate the active shooter
- Acting as aggressively as possible against him
- Throwing items and improvising weapons
- Yelling
- Commit to your actions
- Use anything and everything as a weapon : chairs, books, sprays, scissors
- Hit vulnerable areas such as : eyes, throat, ears, knees
As I was reading through the stories of the survivors in Paris, I saw that several people in the concert hall covered themselves with other bodies in order to appear dead. At gruesome as that sounds, it is a valid method of surviving. I would still encourage running over this, but if that’s your only option, take it.
It is important to understand that most of the survivors of mass shootings are people that ran as fast as their feet could take them. Don’t be misled by all the media and Hollywood make-believe stories.
I read an article about one of the survivors of the Utoya massacre in Norway who made a valid point regarding mass shooting and bravado:
When you talk to people after this happens, it doesn’t make any sense to them. Without fail, after any shooting, you’ll find someone who wasn’t there saying, “I would have run toward the shooting!” or, “Better to die fighting than being a coward.”
They have the entire scenario with all the pertinent details served to them safely through a monitor or newspaper, and then act perplexed that people who are being shot at would act like people being shot at. “I would tackle the gunman!” Really? How would you know there’s only one? Maybe he has three accomplices who’ll easily gun you down before you even get the chance. You know what happened because you read about it after the fact. The only information we had at the time was a dark room, a dirty floor, and muffled noises from outside.
Life is not a movie and when a situation like this appears, you never have all the facts until it’s over. So planning anything other than leaving a dust trail in your wake, may prove fatal.
Raise public awareness of what a concealed carry license with a competent holder of that license and firearm can / could do in those situations.
Very useful information.
Being aware of your surroundings and knowing exit routes is always a good practice. It may be from an attacker, a fire or other emergency. Don’t be complacent and think someone else will help you.
ALWAYS carry ‘heat’
ALL GOOD LAW ABIDING CITIZENS SHOULD BE ABLE TO CARRY A FIREARM AND KNOW HOW TO USE IT. LASER SIGHTS ARE GREAT FOR DARK PLACES.
Each of these venues (over 20 in America) had signs inviting the perpetrators to enter and kill everyone, which read essentially: “This is a weapon free zone” and no one has changed the signs. Einstein said essentially: When you keep doing the same thing, expecting a different results, that is the definition of insanity.
So, why don’t people take down the signs and replace them with one that reads essentially:
“This area is protected by persons trained to use guns, who carry concealed weapons legally… Guess which ones”
Psychotropic drug usage was the cause of most of the recorded mass shootings + radical cults such as Daesh (ISIS).
Deport all Muslims. Execute all who commit mass shootings. Exterminate Daesh. What is wrong with this – consider Japan who does not allow any Muslims in their country. They have the right idea. Remove them from Europe, and all other nations of character…
Arizona Apache Bob has the whole thing in a nut shell. Almost everyone I have spoke with says, ” Oh, you can’t do that. That would be unfare to group all of them into one category.” Yes, I say, but who is to say witch one is not ( ISIS). Japan has the right idea and so does Trump.
Those folded knife sets that fit in the hand are probably alright for most people, but older folks with arthritis in the hands would be better off keeping a standard case slitter in the pocket. The weight reminds one that IT is there, and all one has to do is slide the razor sharp blade forward when a threat is sensed & be ready to slash out at the attacker. One slice cut is enough. The pain will force the attacker to flee. Also the case slitter is not regarded as a weapon so this can be used anywhere.