Author of The Blackout Book and the online course Bloom Where You’re Planted
Mass shootings are happening more and more often in America. Yesterday, someone opened fire at the Mayfair Mall in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, and the perpetrator was still at large at the time of this update. Seven adults and one teenager were injured in the event. Eyewitnesses reported:
“My concern for my uncle was the main thing, because I knew he got shot. But I didn’t know anything about my cousin at all. When I got here, the whole ride up here I was literally scared and nervous, I didn’t know what was going on exactly. Then I spoke to my cousin, he called back, he said, ‘I’m fine. Uncle got shot, got shot twice in the leg.'”
He said his strongest emotion was anger. “This is stupid. Why would people do this, just run into a crowd and start shooting for no reason? Doesn’t make any sense to me. I’m concerned about my cousin of course, but at the same time, I’m furious about this incident. Like why would you put people at risk, you’ve got kids, toddlers, little babies that don’t deserve this.”
Jill Wooley, a shopper who was at Mayfair Mall, recounted what happened to her.
“We’ve been exposed to the public shootings like this, so you, unfortunately, I think all of us, have thought about what would we do in that situation,” she said. “And fortunately that kicked in, and we made it to a safe place… right around the corner from where we were standing there was a stairwell, like an employee stairwell, and we just went straight down as far as we could go. I had my mom hide in the corner, and I looked around for where we could go next if we needed to.” (source)
There have been many mass shootings in recent years. In 2019, there were two mass shootings within 24 hours that claimed the lives of 29 people and injured 52 more. A mass shooting in a Texas Wal-Mart took the lives of 20 people, and a shooting in a popular nightlife area in Dayton, Ohio killed 9 more. Being caught up as a victim in something like this is a hellish nightmare you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy.
A synopsis of the event came from a Facebook live video. (Is it just me or do you find it strange that someone was recording a video and not running like hell?)
At the start of the video, a woman runs toward the store, past a truck that a shopping cart has run into, with a body lying on the ground beside it.
Children were holding a fundraiser at the store and some reportedly were among the casualties.
At the front of the store, victims’ bodies are shown near a table that appeared to have items for sale. The body of a man in blue jeans and a blue shirt is seen on the ground near the table, lying on his stomach, seemingly dead, as a woman rushes over to help. Near him is a woman, taking cover between a garbage can and the wall.
A person is shown lying motionless to the left of the table, under a shade covering set up over it, as a woman tries to help. Nearby, by the wall of the building, a man lies on his side in a pool of dark blood, with a bandage on his back.
A voice tells him, “Try not to move,” adding, “Stay with me, OK?”
Wailing is heard in the background, as people tend to others lying injured nearby. (source)
What would you do if you were caught up in a mass shooting? You need to figure this stuff out now because your chances of thinking clearly and making a plan while gunshots are ringing out are practically nil.
You have to know what to do before an event like this occurs.
One factor that allows shooters to get so many victims is that most folks don’t know what to do in such an event. Most people don’t think ahead when they’re going to Wal-Mart or enjoying an evening in a popular pedestrian area.
But these days, a person has to have a plan anywhere they go, it seems. And they also have to have a survival mindset, practicing the 3 steps of survival repeatedly until it becomes completely natural for them.
If you are in the first wave of victims, that’s just bad luck, and there isn’t much you can do about that. But if you are not in that first wave, then you have a chance to take action and survive. But you have to know what to do and be able to take those life-saving actions.
And another thing to know is that calling 911 is great if you have time, but most of these shootings go down in just a few minutes, according to Brian Duff, a former high threat security specialist and the publisher over at Mind4Survival.
To start with, you should understand that active shooter incidents happen fast. In fact, according to FBI statistics, approximately 36-percent of active shootings are over in less than two minutes, with the majority lasting less than five minutes.
So, what does this mean to you? Unfortunately, it means that once an active shooting starts, you’re probably on your own. (source)
What is not important if you find yourself in the midst of a shooting
This is an unpopular opinion, but here goes.
Strictly from a survival point of view, it doesn’t matter who it is doing the shooting or whether it’s a “false flag.” If you were present during these events, it does not aid your survival to know who committed the acts of terror that occurred on 9/11, on the streets of Boston, in London, or in Paris. It doesn’t matter whether the shooting at Sandy Hook was perpetrated by a kid with behavioral issues or by operatives with an agenda. It doesn’t matter that the guy shooting up a Walmart in Texas wrote an anti-Hispanic manifesto.
If your focus is preparedness and survival, the most important thing you can be doing right now is learning from horrific events.
Whether you believe these acts are at the hands of political extremists, someone who hates Hispanic people, a guy who hates women because he can’t get a date, or a state-sponsored act of terror to clamp down and take away more freedom, the single most important thing you can take away from any of these events is a lesson in survival.
This article is not a debate about the different conspiracy theories. If you are present during a terror attack, my opinions on the culprit don’t matter and neither do yours. All that matters in those minutes or hours is surviving.
So let us try not to get bogged down in a debate over how these two shootings within 24 hours make it easy for all the 2020 candidates to pull on the heartstrings about gun control. What matters is whether you can survive in such a scenario.
Here are the things you need to do before a shooting ever happens.
First things first, even when you’re there for fun, you must be paying attention. You should always scan an area for exits and potential cover. You should pay attention to the people around you. You should understand what the baseline behavior is for your setting so that if something is not baseline, it immediately catches your attention. Let me explain this further.
We can maintain a high level of situational awareness merely by being observant. One way to develop your skills is to play something called Kim’s Game. My friend Scott, at Graywolf Survival, used to use the game to train his soldiers in situational awareness. He wrote:
Situational awareness is key to understanding your environment so you can know better both your circumstances and your options. There are myriad examples that could be given but would you notice the bulge (called printing) of someone’s ankle from a concealed weapon if you were asked to follow him to barter for goods? Would you remember enough details of the turn of a path you passed two hours ago to be able to find it again? If you were attacked, would you be able to give a good enough description of the subject and getaway vehicle to have him identified?
Kim’s Game comes from a novel by Rudyard Kipling and is something you can play with your family, anywhere, anytime. Go HERE to learn more about how to play it.
A higher level of situational awareness can help you in many ways, should you be unfortunate enough to be present during a mass shooting.
It can help by:
- Allowing you to identify a threat before it becomes active
- Allowing you to locate exits and routes to the exits
- Allowing you to determine sources of cover
If you can identify a potential threat before it exists, you can sometimes prevent an attack or at the very least, you can protect yourself and your family more effectively. A book by Patrick Van Horne and Jason A. Riley describes this as being on the “left of bang”. The left of bang is a term used to describe the moments before something bad happens, when you have an inkling that something is wrong, but you just can’t put your finger on what it is.
The book, Left of Bang: How the Marine Corps’ Combat Hunter Program Can Save Your Life, discusses how establishing a baseline can help you to identify a threat. (I can’t recommend this book strongly enough.)
A baseline is “normal” for your immediate environment. Once you have a baseline for behavior in a specific environment, then it’s easier to spot anomalies. According to Left of Bang, it’s the anomalies that should put you on high alert. “Anomalies are things that either do not happen and should or that do happen and shouldn’t.”
The earlier you’re aware that something is going down, the better your chances are of survival.
Know what gunfire sounds like.
A lot of people who were interviewed after the Walmart shooting said that when they first heard the shots, they didn’t realize what it was. They thought it was noise from construction or boxes being dropped. There were precious seconds when people were frozen targets while they tried to wrap their brains around what was actually happening. During an event like this, a pause of a few seconds could mean the difference between life and death. The faster you take action the more likely you are to survive.
Always have a plan.
We can’t foresee all eventualities, like this one, for example, but it helps to always have a survival mindset. It has long been a game with my kids (yeah, we’re a strange family) to identify exits and potential weapons if we sit down to eat at a restaurant or go to the movies. Something we focused on in Selco’s Urban Survival Course in Croatia was finding alternative exits in a mall, locating cover, and finding everyday items that could be used as weapons.
Knowing where to go without having to look for it in the heat of the moment will save time that could be spent acting. We also look for sources of cover.
Understand the difference between cover vs. concealment.
Every NRA course I’ve ever taken discusses the difference between cover and concealment, because in many cases when you are forced to use your own firearm, there’s another person who is ready and willing to shoot back. Concealment is enough to hide you but not enough to protect you from bullets. Cover is something sturdy enough to stop a bullet – a concrete structure like a road divider, the engine block of a car, a refrigerator, a steel door, a brick wall.
When watching the video playback of the Las Vegas shooting, many people were seeking concealment behind flimsy barriers, and that is not enough to protect yourself in a situation with a high-powered gun and a shooter spraying an area.
Separate from the crowd.
In a mass shooting, the shooter is trying to take down as many people as possible, so most likely he will aim at the crowd instead of picking off people who moved away from the bulk of the group.
One possible strategy would be, then, to get away from the crowd. You and the person/people you are with would be less alluring than a group of a hundred panicked people all huddled together where maximum harm could be achieved.
Don’t get down or play dead.
Lots of people crouched down and got as low as they could. In many situations, this would be the best bet, but not this one. The person was shooting from up high, aiming downward. Being still and crouching down wouldn’t do much to protect you from a person firing from this angle, nor would playing dead.
Action is nearly always a better choice than inaction. As well, getting down would make it more likely that you’d be trampled by a panicked crowd of people trying to get away from the area. Clark County Fire Chief Greg Cassell said after the Las Vegas shooting that some of a “wide range” of injuries included people who were trampled by the panicked crowds.
Listen for reload.
In a situation like this, there will be pauses in the shooting when the person stops to either reload or change firearms. That is your opportunity to make a dash for the exits or to take down the attacker. Don’t wait too long to make your move, because it only takes an experienced gunman a few seconds to reload a familiar gun and then your chance is gone.
There are only 3 courses of action.
Sometimes regardless of how alert and observant we are, we can’t predict when an attack is about to happen. There might be no indications in your immediate surroundings to alert yourself to the fact that something is going down. You may be blithely unaware until the moment that a perpetrator starts firing.
If you find yourself suddenly in the midst of a mass shooting, your actions should be one of the following:
1) Escape. Get as far away from the threat as possible. This is where your early observant behavior comes in handy because you’ll already know the escape routes. If you are in charge of vulnerable individuals like children, your first choice of actions should be to get them to safety if at all possible.
2) Take cover. If you can’t get away, get behind something solid and wait for your opportunity to either escape or fight back. This is something else you may have observed when doing your earlier reconnaissance.
3) Take out the threat. If you are armed (and I really hope you are) and/or trained, use your abilities to help remove the threat. But know that sometimes you can’t get a clear shot without putting other people at risk. Understand the power of your firearm and ammunition – will your bullet go through the perpetrator
The most important thing to consider here is not necessarily which action you will take. It’s that you will take an action, not just stand there in shock. You can be a victim or you can be a warrior. Unfortunately, modern life seems to have made our survival instincts obsolete but you can overcome this with practice and study. It’s important to learn everything you can about active shooters, their psychology, and the trends of behavior so that you can give yourself the best chance of survival. Check out this Active Shooter Advice Compendium by my friend and fellow blogger, Greg Ellifritz. I’ve personally read every article on his list.
Keep in mind that fighting back doesn’t always mean a fancy Krav Maga move that takes down two armed men with one trick maneuver. There are many ways to fight back, and not all of them require physical prowess. Don’t let fear incapacitate you. Your brain is a weapon too.
Are you going to wait for someone to save you or are you going to save yourself? Don’t be a kamikaze, but look for your opportunity.
And there comes a point in some of these situations in which survival is unlikely. Don’t go down without a fight.
What advice do you have?
What do you want to add to this? What would you do if caught up in a mass shooting? How have you prepared your family for the possibility of such a horrible event? Let me know in the comments below.
This article is very relevant:
Survival 101: How to find effective cover in a mass shooting
Monday, October 02, 2017 by: Mike Adams
https://www.naturalnews.com/2017-10-02-survival-101-how-to-find-effective-cover-in-a-mass-shooting.html
There’s lots of good advice in Mike’s article, but one biggie he omitted. If you try escaping in a straight line, that makes you a much easier target for the shooter. Instead, if you can zig-zag, you present a much harder target to hit, and there’s a good chance the shooter(s) will go after the “low hanging fruit” (easier targets) instead.
There are also some other lessons — from the horrific Las Vegas murders:
1. There was a woman who warned of the shooting to come, some 45 minutes before it started. So there was time to “get out of Dodge” whether or not she was believable.
2. When the alleged shooter, Stephen Paddock, was found dead, he had marks on his wrists indicating he had been tied up. It’s rather unlikely that he shot himself and then untied his wrists.
3. There were at least two witnesses who reported seeing multiple shooters. Those young witnesses turned up dead not long after making such reports. None of the usual establishment suck-up media would touch those stories, and all insisted that Stephen Paddock was the lone shooter.
The point of that history is that in such mass shooting disasters where the objective is to kill as many people as possible, there may well be multiple shooters to watch for — which might help you decide on possible escape routes.
–Lewis
Always armed, do not go to gun free zones unless as a last resort. Always shoot at least once a month.at a range.
What I do will place you in the most danger there is however it is my way because of who I am and that I have to live with myself afterwards.
What you’ve wrote is correct in what to do.
The problem is that everyone is fake. Yup fake. This was in Texas and y’all are telling me there was only one good guy carrier!??
I bet there was a bunch of 3%er, spartan, skull, grunt gear swag though. A CAR IS NOT A HOLSTER
I have to agree, Matt, I think there is more to this story yet. As well as more details of the Dayton incident. I am curious to hear more (not from MSM)
Matt, I too wondered about that. Many of the folks you mention are probably not likely to be found in a Walmart at 10 am on a Saturday. And some who carry may not share the same character of say a 3%er. I have to believe that the 3%ers I know would have attempted to take this soft target out.
Avoid large public restrooms once a mass shooting has begun. It’s one way in and one way out, and there is no lock on the door. For the shooter, it is like “shooting fish in a barrel.”
ANY info I can get to survive (besides never going to Walmart or similar soft targets ever again) is great for me. I want all the help I can get. Thanks Daisy.
I can’t find a place to contact you directly, Daisy, about referencing a book I’ve written about this so I hope this is okay. The book is titled ‘Facing the Active Shooter’, it is written specifically to provide guidelines for armed citizens who might need to respond to such an event, and it’s available in print form on Amazon and in various ebook formats on Amazon and other outlets. I’ve done the best I could in it to provide pertinent information about this subject and update it at least every other year (the next one should be sometime in 2020). For those who want a more in-depth approach to responding to an active shooter, this and other references are available. Above all I advise and plead with everyone who carries to get training. Classes beat books and there are classes specifically about active shooter response that are taught all over the US. Seek that as well as my and other books and help yourself get ready for this. It’s not going away any time soon.
Thank you! You can email us at editor @ theorganicprepper.com any time if you’d like to share an article on the site. I’m adding the link to your book here in this article.
Official faked news from the El Paso Wal-Mart shooting:
Five simple questions that blow apart the official fake news narrative about the El Paso Wal-Mart shooting, Saturday, August 03, 2019 by: Mike Adams
https://www.naturalnews.com/2019-08-03-five-questions-blow-apart-the-official-fake-news-narrative-el-paso-walmart-shooting.html
and
NARRATIVE CONTROL: Multiple reports, witnesses claim that there were “three or four” shooters at El Paso Walmart, but police only claim one, August 03, 2019 by JD Heyes
https://www.naturalnews.com/2019-08-03-multiple-reports-witnesses-claim-three-or-four-shooters-at-el-paso-walmart.html
—Lewis
This sudden uptick in mass shootings is unnerving to say the least. Thank you for this Daisy! We do have to train ourselves to immediately let go of “normal” and gather ourselves in an instant.
One cautionary tale … I did very little to change the atmosphere of the family except to notice something for every one else sitting around gabbing. We were at the Bay when suddenly I noticed that the circling helicopter was not going away and the same plain clothes policeman riding a bike kept going round and round. The grandkiddos were a ways off at the playground where a SWAT vehicle was closer to them than we were. Our family guys watching the kids play didn’t do anything but continue on. That was not normal! Even though the police were not trying to raise the alarm, they were obviously expecting some dangerous someone to be in our area. It resolved without incident but all the same, I wished that I could’ve spoken with some conviction to get the family into a better situation. That was on a peninsula with only one way in and one way out. Will have to speak frankly with some of the family that we may not be as free as we think we are to gather at our favorite places to picnic and play.
The common denominator of these shootings is that they were in normal places where people gather without fear — which is just about everywhere we can think of in this country.
Undergoing chemo has left me with lower leg and foot problems enough to know that running away may not go well for me. At times I need a cane. So.. guess always taking a cane whether I need it or not would be a good idea. Ol’ gramma may be able to whack ’em. But of course I would try to get out of the line of fire. Things usually happen so quickly that the response is all instinct. We’ve had some unsettling crime in our normally quiet area this week. Meth-heads and MS 13’s are everywhere now. Avoid crowds. Don’t get on the bus.
I have thought and thought about what I would do if I was in one of the isles in a Walmart type store and I couldn’t see the gunmen and nor did I know where they were at or what direction they were heading. So far I have no good answer and all I can say say is cudos to the Mom who took her children and hid behind the tp rolls on the shelves right next to them. I am so glad that simple concealment they used kept them safe.
Anyone who has any suggestions for this scenario PLEASE reply below
Thanks
“You should always scan an area for exits and potential cover. You should pay attention to the people around you.”
“We can maintain a high level of situational awareness merely by being observant.”
Really, I’ve heard some f*****-up arguments, as to why you crazy Americans want to keep your guns, and at the same time, somehow accept and live with mass shootings… but because your comments are so f****** loopy, I have to question your sanity and intelligence.
Who wants to live with that level of “situational awareness,” every time they go around doing their day-to-day business?
Situational awareness is only used in theaters of war, and such similar environments.
Don’t treat the symptoms, treat the cause, and ban all military style weapons, that’s of course, if you really want to survive a mass shooting.
Fact of the matter is, Peter, that criminals will always find ways to get their hands on guns, or choose other weapons to do unspeakable things. There have been more than a few mass incidents in countries with stricter gun laws than the USA. Likely even in your own country, whichever that may be. ‘Treating the cause’ goes way deeper tnan banning ‘assault’ weapons, and is worthy of it’s own article. It isn’t ‘news’ if it doesn’t ‘bleed’, so you don’t hear much about ‘attacks’ that have been prevented by legal gun owners No, we don’t ‘accept’ mass shootings….We recognize our gooberment and medical professionals are failing to do enough to keep these incidents from happening. And even if they were, there are some fricking crazy ppl out there who will still manage to slip thru the cracks and do ‘crazy stuff’. Thankfully, ‘We the People’ have the RIGHT to keep and bear arms. Situational awareness is not exclusive to wartime. I grew up the daughter of a cop, in a peaceful area, during peaceful times. Yet I never sit with my back to the door anywhere I go, I scan exits anywhere I go, and so on. Situational awareness is something everyone should practice at all times. It doesn’t have to be a mass shooting, it could be a fire, a potential assault, the list goes on. .
I was hoping to engage in a meaningful dialogue with Peter, but that doesn’t appear to be happening. I wonder where he lives, and how insulated his country is from mass incidents, He obviously doesn’t understand our Second Amendment. Nor has he seen the reports of ‘mass incidents’ being averted by lawfully carrying citizens….or the grandma who talked her grandson into going to the hospital for treatment before he went and shot someplace up (it was on Fox News website). Go ahead and give the guy flak, but keep it respectul (as most have).
Says the person who just went on with an incoherent rant, and never addressed my point at all.
Hey Grammy, any word from you about banning semi-automatic assault style guns?
You wonder where I live?
Australia, and since we banned dangerous guns, we don’t have any mass shootings.
Oh,Mr Peter Harris. How’s that rise in crime doing for you? Don’t like our country or freedoms? Stay the f**** out of MY country . Stay in Australia, yyou and I will get al9ng just fine
Unlike YOU, AMERICANS are not cowards , fools, slaves. I will defend myself, something cowards like WILL NEVER do. And by the way shitforbrains, I function in 24/7 situational awarenes, it’s NEVER turned off. Stfu coward fool
@Peter Harris,
Do you look behind you when you back your vehicle up? Look to check your blind spot before changing lanes on the highway?
That is situational awareness too.
Unfortunately, here in America, there are very bad actors. Not just people with guns. But someone who wants your sneakers, or your smartphone, or do not like the way you look, and will blindside you with a sucker punch.
In some places it is more common than others.
By all means, live in your little safe space.
Leave life to the rest of us adults.
But the weapons are not the cause, Peter. If they were, then countries that have very strict bans would not see the kind of violence they see. The causes (there are more than one) are the things that drive the people that do the shootings (or the stabbings or the bombings or the arson or the vehicle attacks. (I hope you do recognize that there are more things than guns that such people use to kill others with.) Ideology to madness and all things between, emotional and mental. These are the causes. Guns are one of the tools people use to do harm with. If you want to reduce or remove the threat of mass murder, you have to reduce or remove the things that drive people to do it first. Do that, and the rest follows. Focus on one thing like you do, and there will be no end. Unless you understand that, there will be not even the barest beginning of a real solution.
Totally agree with you CR Williams. Weapons are not the cause. Some countries with strict gun control don’t have crime nor mass shootings. Some have crime but no mass shootings (like where I live). Some have terrorism, some have political issues and so on.
There’s a social and also an individual component behind each situation. It’s complex. But either way, in countries with gun access people aren’t trapped defenseless between the bad and the good guys who have easy access to guns. That makes a difference IMHO.
The fact of the matter is: People with bad intentions (crime, terrorism, mass assassination, whatever) will always have access to those “tools” as you say. I for myself would rather have the option to at least be able to defend myself, and guns are also effective for that. So yes I’m pro-guns.
Also agree with @1stMarineJarHead mentions, we do need to be aware all the time. The world is a wonderful place, but it’s a dangerous place too.
Peter Harris you must be one of our communist socialists readers. You must live where only criminals/killers have weapons. I seriously pity you. I’m sure that my American 2nd Amendment friends all know exactly what I’m saying.
“Don’t treat the symptoms, treat the cause, and ban all military style weapons”
actually the biggest single cause of mass shootings is SSRI’s. guns don’t cause mass shootings.
Hi Daisy, I live 60 miles south of El Paso Texas. And I have family and friends there. The Mall and Walmart there is predominately Mexican American owned and operated. Very few *white people* shop there. This was a hate crime. The Mexican so called imagrants (sp) are not allowed fire arms. But still, why didn’t someone take this guy down from behind or whatever? I know many Mexicans in El Paso and New Mexico. I’m going to find out why (with all the violence ect..where they come from) why no one is aware that it can happen ANYWHERE. It just baffles me. My daughter and I live alone in the boonies, and now that the border patrol checkpoints are closed down, we get imagrants passing through here. There are more drugs coming through, they’re stealing goats ect…to eat. Horses to travel. The Mexicans NEVER have given us any problems, they just wanna continue on their way to like Colorado. Hell we even left food for them out here. These imagrants from Africa carry Ebola, some carry measles. And if they come to our door asking for asylum we’re supposed to help them. WTF??? I’M not letting them any where near me and my daughter!! Somehow, someone has to teach our LEGAL Mexican Americans to defend themselves. Since they can’t carry guns. It’s so crazy. There has to be someone that can help these people. It’s rediculous. You’d think that where they’re from, they would know how to defend their family from this kind of violence. People just freaked out, cowered to the ground covered their children hoping for the best. And so many got killed. It’s a shame.
Excellent advice! Thank you! I shared it on my FB page!
How to Survive a Mass Shooting: shoot back.
Men should not run from shooting. You should be hunting the shooter with your own gun so you can save the children and women and elderly, unless your a left wing nut case democrat. Then we already know you’re afraid of protecting yourself. Those can wait police and hope they live until police arrive on scene.
2 things to remember Always….1. ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS BE ARMED….2 . DISTANCE IS SAFETY. …GET THE HELL AWAY FAST!
To all those who responded to my comment, you’re just confirming my suspicions, that you are completely clueless, unintelligent, and completely fail to see the bigger picture as to why you don’t need military-style semi-automatic guns and why you don’t have to live in a fearful environment.
No wonder, your country is collapsing socially, culturally, politically and economically.
Peter Harris: some of us didn’t respond to you because you show appalling lack of knowledge.
A military style weapon is almost impossible to get, even for an American. Military style weapons can be put on full auto. As for semi-auto, even a revolver, technology invented in the 1830s, can be fired as quickly as a semi-auto and some can have quick change magazines.
Mass shootings are so rare that I don’t think of them. The real reason for taking all the precautions listed in the article and comments is because of everyday crime that is just as often carried out with a baseball bat, broken glass bottle, knife, fists or other weapons. I was robbed twice, both times by two people who attacked from behind with their fists, a third time the thief with a broken glass bottle ran off when he thought I had a gun. I hear that gun crime is up in Australia after the government confiscated most legal guns—illegal guns are so easy to make or smuggle that criminals can still get them. Criminals getting guns was also true in the old Soviet Union when private ownership of firearms was almost totally banned, and again in modern communist China.
All of western civilization is collapsing socially, culturally, politically and economically, including Australia. The causes have nothing to do with guns. Throughout western society, including Australia, there are self-appointed elites who think they are better than us common people, who want to impose their “enlightened” view on us “lower people”, often imposed through the widespread use of lies, and widespread private gun ownership makes that much, much harder for them to succeed because private gun ownership prevents them from resorting to force.
“ All of western civilization is collapsing socially, culturally, politically and economically, including Australia. The causes have nothing to do with guns. Throughout western society, including Australia, there are self-appointed elites who think they are better than us common people, who want to impose their “enlightened” view on us “lower people”, often imposed through the widespread use of lies, and widespread private gun ownership makes that much, much harder for them to succeed because private gun ownership prevents them from resorting to force.”
Totally agree Richard. That’s my personal assessment of the situation as well.
“you show appalling lack of knowledge”
that’s why he thinks he’s intelligent.
I would like to know how an individual can wound and kill so many people while they were running, with a rifle and one (1) magazine that only holds 30 rounds? From the video’s, the shooter had no more loaded magazines available to reload. I would also like to know why the shooter was wearing eye & hearing protection when he had already assumed he was going to die? I would also like to know why so many eye witnesses claimed there was multiple shooters? The local police and media reported the arrest of three (3) suspects before the story was changed.
This article is pointless because no person was killed in El Paso, Dayton, Gilroy, Aurora, Newtown, Orlando, London, Sandy Hook, San Bernardino and Parkland. Only the patsies were killed in Las Vegas and Boston. The Las Vegas incident consisted of a stadium filled with Illuminati bloodline families brought in from all over the country and equipped with stage blood. They have gone pretty far to try and confiscate our guns.
Michael, I know for sure people were killed in Sandy Hook. I lived in the next town over and knew people who died there or lost a child or grandchild. Believe me, the funerals and grieving relatives were real. Just recalling the sorrow I saw at that time brings me to tears again.
94%. 97%. 98%.
One of those is the percentage of mass killings in “gun-free zones.”
Be alert for gun-free zones and avoid them and you eliminate most of the risk. This method is much less stressful than all the others.
Promoting this fact IS important for survival because foolishness in the culture puts you at risk, too, no matter how wise you are as an individual.
Thanks for keeping the important point in mind, Daisy, that no matter what the true reason of a mass shooting is, and yes, I think this is another attempt at manipulation, it’s still just as dangerous to the people involved.
Although I am not able to have a firearm and haven’t been able to do any related classes, at least I know what I’d do in a mass shooting scenario. This is a bit of a funny story actually.
I was at my favorite grocery store, a big international grocery store in the good part of town where I live. I was toward the back. I was startled by some loud bangs coming from the register area, that at first sounded like gunshots in the big, echoey store. My first instinct was to figure out where they were coming from, get behind hard cover (a pillar) and then listen for screaming or other signs of trouble. Within about a minute I smelled old fashioned gunpowder and there were no screams, and the noise went on. It was actually firecrackers, a massive string of them, and it actually turned out to be a New Year Lion Dance that I hadn’t known they were going to hold! It was kind of a fun end to what was at first a butt puckering situation.
Great advice, Daisy. Run, hide, fight is the mantra if you are caught in an active shooter situation. In addition, your advice about situational awareness is not just relevant now, but always.
“You should always scan an area for exits and potential cover. You should pay attention to the people
around you. You should understand what the baseline behavior is for your setting so that if something is
not baseline, it immediately catches your attention.”
My husband and I were in the Miami airport years ago, but after the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993. We were approached by well-dressed women trying to give us teddy bears. Well, that was odd, so I reported it to airport authorities. When we checked in for our connecting flight, I mentioned the oddity to the airline attendant helping us. She thanked us profusely and said that our reporting of the incident may have saved the airport from an attack.
In another case, a co-worker knew what to do in Las Vegas when the shooter began shooting into the concert crowd. She recognized what a shot sounded like (because of active shooter training at work) and while others were confused and wondering what was going on, she urged her husband to run with her to the gate. They escaped without harm.
I know it’s hard to stay alert always, but you don’t have to be at top alert all the time, only a level just below it. I know it’s tempting in these times to let our guard down because we’re so weary, but we shouldn’t. People are stressed, and when people get stressed, things happen that we don’t expect.
The first best choice of action is not to be in most of these places in the first place.
There are often alternatives, shopping online, going somewhere when it is less crowded, going some where else or just, not going there at all.
I know, some times you feel you just “have to go”, to one of these places.
But risk assessment must be a top consideration. Would you really go, if you had a fair chance of being paralyzed for life or killed?
You must determine how great a risk there is and is it really worth that risk?
In most of the mentioned scenarios the risk was quite low. However, in Europe, every major event, concert, etc, is a potential terrorist target.
Then there are times when certain groups are upset over some issue and targeting other normal everyday shopping and dining venues.
Here in the US, these “protests” and political rally’s, could qualify as places of greater risk.
So one must consider the risk factor involved.
One of the next best options is to wear a “Bulletproof Backpack”, or carry a “Bulletproof Briefcase or Bag” or a similar item. This will help provide some cover, as you flee the scene.
They will stop most hand gun calibers. They generally will not stop rifle rounds, but they will stop some of their penetration by slowing them down and that could make a big difference.
Also at greater distances ( a long range, sniper) they might stop Rifle rounds, There are a lot of variables involved. They generally fail at stopping rifle calibers at 30 ft or less but at 100 yds it might be another matter. Plus whatever the contents of the item is would make a difference also.
One of the next things is to be a “Grey man” ( or woman). Most gunmen or snipers will be attracted to a somewhat random target, due to them being the most easily distinguishable target in the crowd.
( In going from generally observing a crowd to looking through a rifle scope, your field of view is greatly reduced. So picking an easily identifiable target will be high on the gun man’s list.) Human nature and a persons eyes, are attracted to whatever is different or “stands out”, in a location.
So bright colors, odd fashion choices, etc, are all NO,NO’s!
This will not always apply, but it’s better to be safe, rather than sorry.
Then of course is Situational awareness and gut instinct or intuition. If it does not “feel right”, don’t go or if you are there already, get out fast.
When my offspring was the age to want to go to the mall with his friends I had a relative who was the manager of a mall chain store show him how to get into the service hallways of the mall & find the exit doors to the delivery areas. We also discussed how to simply jump over the food court counters & exit through those service areas, too. We talked about how to avoid the main doors to the mall as those would bottleneck with shoppers. I also made sure that he knew basic first-aid in the event he or a buddy was injured. Thankfully he never had to out this knowledge into use.
I am a female, I had an experience in my car, a potential robbery and assault situation, around midnight on a Fourth of July weekend, I was driving home from work and was actually in my nice suburban neighborhood where it was all nice quiet housing, and a car unexpectedly sped past me and pulled in front of me and slammed on its brakes, forcing me to slam on my brakes, and three young men jumped out of the car (driver remained at wheel) and ran back and began pounding on windows on both sides of my vehicle and kicking my doors, shouting Open up. I went into a type of temporary shock as I sat there, so be prepared to know that could happen to you under stress. Then I became aware that my driver side window was getting loose and might be pushed in or smashed. My mind came back to me and I reached under my car seat for the best weapon I had, an umbrella with a three inch point. They must have thought it was a gun esp. since I maintained eye contact with the guy at my window and I remember thinking, I’m going to stab this in your eye @#$%& and the guy at my window jumped back and then they were all running back to their car. The driver then went into reverse and stopped just short of my front bumper. Then they drove off. I know it sounds girlie to the fighters out there but there’s a lesson in this, have something nasty under your driver’s seat even if you don’t carry a firearm, something legal that can do damage, better than an umbrella, and practice putting your own car in reverse and speeding into reverse. BTW, I memorized the license number and two police came to my family home and said, that family had four boys in it, could you identify any if them, I said they had long hair that’s all I remember, they said they can’t arrest any of them if I couldn’t id them, they said the family were trouble.
Daisy thank you, we were just talking about this yesterday. My cousin made the point about was anyone else carrying a gun same as Matt.
For me and the kiddos we are the same we always look for exits not because we fear for mass shootings but they can happen in any country. It’s about being prudent with our safety and due to the sensory overload , the kiddos know they often need a quick exit and yes we make it a game. Criminals have no problem getting illegal guns. Even here in AUSTRALIA. No matter what laws were passed years ago it’s still the same. If they want a gun , they can easily get one, no law has changed that as they operate outside the law. How do I know this from personal experience of being shot. It’s not pleasant to say the least. For me I grew up with guns and gun safety. Us kids had respect for them. As did my parents & grand parents. I personally don’t believe fresh panic over any mass shootings should be the reason why guns are restricted acting on the facts not emotions. Looking into what guns Americans can have clearly shows they are not running around with military style weapons. The facts are there if you choose to look for them. If my family was caught up in a mass shooting , we would get to the exit as quickly as possible, yes we would already know where they are. I have no qualms about going through a staff area if that gets us out of harm’s way quicker. Which apparently when discussing with my cousin, he said he wouldn’t have thought to do, use what you’ve got. Once to safety I would call it in.
Don’t Be There. 93% to 97% of mass shootings (4+ victims) take place in Gun-Free Zones. I just websearched the mall firearms policy and sure enough, “strict no-gun policy.”
Malls seem convenient, but most of them are idiotic in this. Avoid them.
When I was living in Tennessee a long while ago, early one morning on my way to work, I stopped in at a gas station for coffee and a donut. I opened the door and saw a guy standing really near the cashier who was just standing there staring straight ahead. I figured something was odd,but couldn’t put my finger on it. Suddenly,the cashier turned toward me and said”Get outta here lady,we’re being robbed”!. I ran back to my car and left rubber all over that parking area. Didn’t slow down ’til I got to work.
“when they first heard the shots, they didn’t realize what it was”
was in a gun shop when someone accidentally discharged a firearm. took me 15 seconds to realize what had happened.