I am seeing a lot of victim mentality here. Why was one person able to kill 85 persons with a firearm and wound others on a small island which contained about 650 persons in the first place? I can understand the first few, depending on how quickly it took place, due to the police uniform. Run and hide and you will only die later, unless you are retreating and regrouping with a plan. Did those brave few on flight 93 run and hide or cower in the corner? Situational awareness is how you will identify the event you are part of. Next, you need a plan to remedy the threat. Every situation is different, but the death count would have been a lot lower if the folks on that island would have taken direct action to stop the gunman.
It takes a lot of training and courage to fight a shooter in such a surprise attack. Da Bing
It doesn’t take any training, just presence of mind and a desire to live… sometimes just fear of death. That may substitute for courage in this situation. Of course, any training or study you may have done along these lines would most likely help, but it’s not required.
Are there group tactics against a single shooter?
Da Bing
Yes, as a matter of fact, training for an active shooter has been going on pretty regularly since JeffCo.
Perhaps, but anything that has any chance of success would require quite a bit of preparation (training, setting up traps in the terrain, stocking projectiles like stones, etc.)
Da Bing
No training or traps required, just use the environment to your advantage and use what you’ve got. What’s the alternative?
That leaves us with a spontaneous mass charge, which would have a high casualty rate with very little chance of success.
Da Bing
650 to 1… hmmm
The actual results were about 160 or more shot, 93 or more dead. If folks charged, the numbers would have been worse? I really do not believe that.
You will need a huge suicide squad. Boys or not, the situation does not seem comparable to Flight 93.
Da Bing
Do or die? … close enough …
Besides, we had a shooting on an army base. Did the unarmed soldiers fight the shooter?
Da Bing
No, how did it turn out for them?
Situational awareness works for the "rational" sorts of crime.
Da Bing
It works for any situation, crime or not. It puts you in a better position to handle any situation you're in.
In fact, it is often more valuable than a concealed firearm, since some criminal tactics leave you with no chance of drawing the gun when the threat presents itself. Only situational awareness will keep you safe from danger.
Da Bing
No, situational awareness does not keep you safe from danger, it improves your reaction time, minimizes loss and heightens your chances of survival.
This type of mass shooting is a new form of crime, possible only with modern firearms. We may have to start catching people before they get to carry out the massacre. This seems like an almost impossible task.
Da Bing
History shows mass attacks happen, no matter what the weapon. You are getting into typical political mindset here.
I'm sure there were adults there. But with just one person shooting, I always tend to think HE HAS TO RELOAD SOMETIME! Was it so inconceivable that someone might have the idea to get around him and bash his head in with a chunk of wood or a rock?
Reloading takes only maybe three seconds for trained people. Breivik had a Ruger Mini-14, which has 30-round magazines.
Da Bing
3 seconds would be considered slow. I don’t have the info on how he was armed, and it seems like more info is coming out.
Let's say in a comparable scenario, the shooter shoots each person twice. That's around 200 rounds. He just needs 6-7 magazines, which can be carried neatly in a vest and in a tactical bag. If he has some training, he knows how to transition from rifle to pistol, which can stop the brave head bashers (Breivik also had a Glock).
…
Da Bing
Even if he had a 100 round magazine… he shot over 160 people!
I would think he could have been stopped before that number was reached.
News is reporting he may have had other help… still don’t know…