A gunman killed eight people and wounded five others Wednesday at the popular Westroads Mall in Omaha, Nebraska, before apparently turning the gun on himself, police said.

Full article here.

Another article with more details here.

Some people were thinking smart by hiding in bathrooms, clothes racks and change rooms. I have often wondered what the best thing to do if something like this happened in an open area in a building that does not have many places to hide.

In the open area scenario, to try and survive, are you better off to run if possible to safety, or lay down and play dead if the chances of running are slim?

if possible, get out. If not, do whatever it takes to survive. For some, that would mean charging the attacker (not necessarily an act of bravery but, not necessarily not, either)...to others, it may mean laying down as if dead. Who knows what we'd do, I think the survival instinct dictates what's appropriate at the moment.

I'm always armed and I think I know what I'd do...but thinking and being there are, of course, two very different situations.

Shoot back! If someone was armed, the situation might have turned out very different.

Of course it depends on the situation and perhaps duck and cover would be a better alternative. But at least, I would not be a helpless victim.

Nomad,

I agree with you. An active defense (shooting back) should be an option for those capable and willing to use it. At the very least it provides an option other than "run and hide".

I live in the Omaha area, and I've shopped at the Von Maur store in Westroads mall. Unfortunately, while Nebraska began issuing concealed handgun permits this year, businesses can post 'no concealed carry' signs that have the force of law. Legal concealed carry for defense was not an option for shoppers at the mall.

We all welcome "random acts of kindness", but I fear we'll never eliminate "random acts of violence".

Dennis

If I could determine from which direction the shots were coming from, I would run the other way.

If I decided to stay, I would look for cover (not just concealment) since we are talking about an active shooter. If I was not armed with a firearm, I would begin looking around for something that could be pressed into service as a weapon. Does the store you are in have a sporting goods section? Then, I would wait to ambush the
bad guy. Be alert and think aggressive. Hopefully, rescue would show up first.

I would not play dead, unless the bad guy was actually a brown bear.

Based on that premise, I'd say surviving victims and the families of those that died have a pretty good case for negligence against the mall owners and any businesses therein that subsribed to such a ridiculous policy.

Obviously the rule did absolutely nothing to prevent or deter the criminal act. So what was the purpose of such a rule?

I would expect to see ownership of that mall change hands soon, based on court orders if nothing else.

Notice how no one ever goes on a shooting spree at police stations. Why don't they? Because they know someone will be shooting back at them. They seek out those locations were the killing will be easy and unresisted.

I doubt I would lay down and play dead, I might chose to hide or fight back depending on the situation. As was mentioned there's always something near by that can be used as an improvised weapon.

Thats something else I have always been thinking about, how to handle the responsibility of the business owner, I mean should they be required by law to have armed guards at all entrances and exits to prevent such things, they would have to be armed and trained because an unarmed guard would just be another target.

I might just be a little parinoid but when I go anywhere I look for possible exits and weapons.

Ditto that advice