Do you have a pic? I know my knots quite well, and I still don't get it. Are you basically securing the 2x2 across the door somehow?

It has to be noted that most colleges and major institutions use commercial hydraulic door closers that are easy to jimmy to make them hard to open. Next time you go to a restaurant look at the closer and notice how the two rods that are hinged together work. If you can keep those two rods together the door won't open.

A boot lace will do it. Tightly lash the two rods together near the closer and you limit access without having to lay in front of the door and risk getting hurt. Make up for any weakness in the cordage you use by using more wraps. Also, the tighter you get the lashing the more tightly the door will remain closed.

Odds are that a determined attacker will be able to kick and shove the door open a bit and, given time, they may be able to slip through the narrow opening. This tactic mostly limits their mobility and buys you time that can be used to make a strategic retreat, or organize resistance. Time and distance are your friends.

It also has to be noted that a person, even a strong person armed with a gun, is vulnerable if they are forced to slide through a narrow gap. If the door is kicked or rammed when they are half-way through the narrow gap you have a fair chance of causing serious injury.

It also has to be noted that lashing the closer can be combined with wedging the door and barricading the entry with anything handy.

irekon..no, I'm retired now... probably a half hitch was not the correct term...fold a loop back on itself, and put both resulting loops around the knob as a slip knot... I had a hallway entrance to my lab room from one hallway, and a counter top at the edge of the other door with which to lean the 2x2s as jiggling the door would allow a short horizontal block to slip off the door frame... the doors were locked from the inside but accessable by anyone with a master key...probably a better solution would be to use a piece of chain and bolt through the links..what I used was in response to a "what if...." one afternoon, and I used some para cord and meter sticks... the sticks slipped so I purchased the longer 2x2s

a slotted 500g mass can be driven onto a meter stick to make a pretty good trunchon

I helped review my school's emergency management document after the Columbine attack... as the shooter on the faculty my Principal asked me to be on it... I played the role of devil's advocate, especially with improvised explosives and firearms...

It's been so long since I've been in school that I don't even know if there are locks on the doors!

If there are, and even if the shooter has keys, if you can quickly open the door, stick a sharpened pencil in the lock (or just a piece of lead from a mechanical pencil) and break it off so there is nothing to grab, the key won't go in.

Even when I was a kid in school, I remember thinking that a classroom with only one door had definite drawbacks.

Sue

I really don't want to sound like a troll here but:

Given the statistical chances of this - compared to say lightning strikes, scorpion stings and alcohol poisoning - is it really worth spending much time on? How many people die annually from this?

I don't remember the exact times but three incidences in the last twenty years within a couple hundred miles that I can name off the top of my head. Virginia Tech, Appalachian School of Law, one of the local high schools. IIRC there have been several others in Tennessee west of here.

For those of us that are professional students or educators, it's higher on our scale.

Risk matrix: low probability, sure, but very high consequence.

Yes, it is worth it! It's a good mental exercise for situational awareness generally. People who cannot articulate a response for this issue probably cannot articulate a response for a random attack on the street either. They're part of the group that thinks violence simply won't happen to them, ever.

Also, the cost/benefit ratio is extremely low. What's the cost of discussing possible reactions to shooters? The cost is nearly $0. It just takes your time, and the discussion is fun. The benefit is that you may be able to save your life and/or other lives one day. That's a huge benefit.

Yes, an active shooter situation may be unlikely, but most (or all) of the topics discussed on this site are unlikely. For example, it's highly unlikely that I'll have to start a fire on an off-piste snowboard trip. However, the cost of me putting together a small survival kit that can save my life is about $10. Again, the cost/benefit ratio is extremely low.

Finally, note that this site is NOT called "Equipped to Camp". This site is called "Equipped to Survive", and this is the survival forum.

I live in the Bronx and am often in some of the worst neighborhoods in the country so I am not in the "violence won't happen" camp. I just become curious when I hear about people from suburban America spending lots of money/time preparing for muggings/break-ins while generally ignoring their obesity/smoking/etc when they rarely even know someone who has every been assaulted.

As far the best "equipment" to survive an assault from an armed assailant who is intent to kill you with semi-automatic weapon for no reason while in a firearms restricted zone in rural/suburban America? I suggest body armor, a fitness regiment and the previously mentioned situational awareness.

Well, you did answer the original question after implying the topic is pointless. So, you are now officially a member of this pointless discussion.



The thread topic is about reacting to a shooter at a school, not about fixing the other dangers you mentioned. If you do a search, you'll find other threads for that. Anyway, just about every adult I know can relay a story about a home invasion in or near their neighborhood, and I live in suburbia and know a lot of people across the country. So, I strongly disagree with your statement about suburbanites rarely knowing someone who has ever been assaulted.