How to Survive a Massacre

In the realm of security and law enforcement the term ‘Active Shooter’ is parlance for a person who walks into a building or area with a firearm and starts shooting people. Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, PhD states; “let’s not call them ‘active shooters’, shooters are people who go to gun clubs and shoot for entertainment, let’s call these people what they are; ‘active killers’. I like Col. Grossman phrasing better so that’s what I’ll use for the remainder of this blog entry. Several past incidents include; The Discovery Channel Massacre, the Fort Hood Massacre, the Virginia Tech Massacre, or the Mumbai Massacre (hey, you may be traveling!). Psychologists and criminologists all have several theories and hypotheses for why someone goes on a shooting rampage – but few offer realistic options for people who find themselves in an active killer scenario. Every situation is different and it is impossible to try to say this is the solution for all Active Killer scenarios. While this would stop some consultant from providing advice on what to do we at Fight Like A Girl – Akron feel it’s a good starting point. The information is presented from the standpoint of someone who does not have a weapon and/or is not prepared to return fire/ shoot back (e.g. your children).

First off believe what you are seeing or hearing. In past columns I have written about getting into a person’s decision making process or their OODA Loop (Observe-Orient-Decide- Act). Events around you will be transpiring quickly, you may or may not see the active killer, you may or may not see the victims or the trauma involved (which may include blood), you may see people running, screaming, yelling, you may hear what sounds like ‘firecrackers’ (if you haven’t the experience of being around firearms), you may smell smoke or see bursts of flame. These are all realistic indicators that something is terribly wrong. Believe what you are seeing or hearing! Now let your OODA loop work; Observe what is taking place, Orient (where is the killer, which way is s/he shooting, where is safety), Decide (what am I going to do), and then Act (do what you have decided). If you are afraid, tell yourself ‘fear is normal’ then act!

Secondly, what is safe? Safety usually means to find a place that has what is commonly known as ‘cover’ or ‘concealment’. Cover is what will stop a bullet or fragmentation (bombs, grenades). Cover can most likely be summed up as “is it concrete, steel, or large amounts of dirt?” Concrete planters and vehicle engines are good ‘cover’.

Anything else that hides you from the view of the killer is to be considered ‘concealment’. Also, cover and concealment is to be considered temporary. If the shooter moves around so that you are no longer protected by the cover or concealment then you need to move. Now here’s a nugget of information that you’d have to spend several hundreds of dollars for at those fancy shooting schools; ‘don’t hog cover’. Hogging cover is when you see someone getting up as close as possible to what they call cover. Hogging cover robs you of your field of vision. By backing away from the cover you stay protected but also are able to see around the edges of cover in case the murderer starts to move around to your vantage point.

Concealment on the other hand is what will hide you, but not stop a bullet. Although you must overcome the killer’s weapon you can also overcome his/her mind as well. However, concealment is always the 2^nd choice: you want cover, but you may have to settle for concealment (temporarily). If you can get to something that conceals you from the killer . The row of porta-potties below is an example of concealment (from behind them). A personal bias on my part but I would not hide in the porta-potty; not because it is bad concealment, but because it takes my vantage point and my mobility away.

Another aspect of cover and concealment is the use of what is known as ‘dead space’. It is amazing how little information is available on the web with regard to this topic. Dead Space refers to a spatial cavity or location that bullets cannot get into based on their trajectory (i.e. depressions in the ground/ or behind hills …dare I say grassy knolls?). Even in urban areas there are drainage ditches and small bowls in the ground that would be considered dead space/ good cover. People who are current or former military have a good understanding of what this is. You can develop your own perception on dead space by looking for ditches or depressions in the landscape/ landscape formations where you go and where you work. Something to keep in mind is that vegetation that is planted for ground cover often grows at a uniform height and can ‘hide’ dead space. Look for how the ground lays out.

Lastly, distance can be a good measure of safety from an active killer. Leaving the area, putting multiple doors and walls between you and the shooter is often the best remedy. Get behind cover and keep moving away from the shooter. If you are in an open area and there isn’t cover, concealment, or dead space run offline (at a 45 or 90 degree angle) of the killer. It is always harder to shoot at a moving target versus a stationary target. Get away and keep moving away!

In part 2 we’ll look at what to do if you are close to the killer and what to do if you are shot by the killer.

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