Looks like it boils down to: run for the exit, or hide and wait for LEOs.

If I take the run option, the problem is that I wouldn’t know what sort of “gun” was in play, so trying to count how many shots are fired (not to mention the noise and confusion) and wait for a re-load I don’t think is practical for me, esp at 50 yards with other people running around.

What is more likely is that I may be able to see her (why does it need to be a man?) turn around and be focused in another direction; that would be the time to run, quickly and quietly ? I think I would like the family to go first, and I’d bring up the rear, that way I’d know where everyone was and I guess it would offer them some protection.

The thought of hiding does not appeal at all. Having to sit in a small spot perhaps for many hours and not knowing what was happening or about to happen. Listening to what is going on. Awful and Terrifying ! Just think : no food, drink, or toilet, no moving or stretching – try and get your kids to cooperate for that long !

Academically I’d like to take the run for the exit option. I think that in the first few moments is when there is maximum confusion and people running around etc, and that is probably the time to get out. After a while (few minutes ?) things would quieten down and if you tried to run then you’d be an easy target.

The consensus seems to be the best option is to "get out of there" basically. The details involve various ways of doing this. OK, then what's Plan B?

Although it's fashionable to disregard the use of handguns on this site, a handgun here may allow for the most doable option for regular people. At a minimum, a handgun broadens the scope of options tremendously.

Without a gun, I would not consider hunkering down and hiding to be a viable option. With a handgun, hunkering down is an attractive option, considering the alternative of having to become an Olympic sprinter suddenly. I don't know about others, but I can't sprint anymore. I can run as hard as I can, but it can't be objectively classified as a "sprint". Further, nowadays, I'm more often injured with a hamstring pull than I am not. I encourage you to be honest with yourself as well.

If I could situate myself such that there's only one direction from which to shoot me, then I'd feel "comfortable" with the option of hunkering down. Someone above mentioned that I may be waiting for hours. OK, so I hunker down and keep my flashlight handy to be able to identify anybody who invades my new home. I can wait it out in order to save my life.

This all assumes I don't have any kids with me. It's also fair to assume the shooter is playing "bully" and will probably become a meek coward if faced with bullets flying in his direction.

Anyway, that's a rough draft for Plan B. I encourage more experienced people to modify it, provide more details or be inspired to present their own Plan B. Heck, this might even be Plan A.

In an earlier post, I had wondered if there was any best option other than to run for the exit given the OP's parameters. I hadn't considered someone severely limited in their mobility. In that case, perhaps getting into that storefront 5 feet away makes more sense than going for the exit 30 feet away. That's certainly a mitigating factor that can make running away NOT the best option.

I think hunkering down (with or without a weapon) will be Plan A for most people in many active shooter situations, whether they want to or not. As I mentioned earlier, I think the fact that we can immediately recognize the shooter, their location, that they're doing something bad, that the exit is close by, is a huge gimme in this thought exercise.

I presume that for the bulk of people actually caught up in such a situation in something like an office building, they will be away from the immediate action and won't have any direct information to go on. They'll hear a pop-pop, maybe even muffled by the walls, and ask "Did you hear that? What was that?" Pop. "Is that...?" Pop. Scream. "What? Where is this? What's going on?!" Maybe you'll see someone run one way--but then someone else run the other way. "What the HECK is going on?!"

In this more realistic scenario, immediately blindly running towards a distant exit may not be the smartest thing if you don't even have an idea where the shooting is occuring. (Off topic, but with the 9/11 anniversary coming up, everyone blinding heading for the fire exits at the same time in a very large skyscraper is not necessarily the best course of action either, what happened on 9/11 notwithstanding).

In this case, holing up/hiding, at least until you get more information, could certainly be considered a better option depending on the situation.

There was a recent series of disaster survival programs (can't remember what it was called) that had this as one of the scenarios.
Good tips were stay a foot away from the walls; bullets skim along them. And when the cops find you; have your hands visible and don't make any sudden moves.
qjs

Bullets tend to either bounce off walls or embed themselves therein, not skim them. I'd like to see a source on that.



This is excellent advice.

I believe the scenario alluded to would involve a bullet fired at a very shallow angle along something like a storefront; a very shallow ricochet.

You ever watch "Blackhawk Down?"
"Hey Grimsey, stay off the walls." Bullets hug walls, supposedly.

From the US Army FM 3-06.11:
"The soldier should try to stay 12 to 18 inches away from walls when moving; rubbing against walls may alert an enemy on the other side, or, if engaged by an enemy, ricochet rounds tend to travel parallel to a wall."

http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/army/fm/3-06-11/ch3.htm

Does anyone know the name of the series I was talking about? It had a nuclear terrorist strike as well as the mall shooter.
And interestingly one they said was 'when' not 'if'; an influenza pandemic. You got breathe masks stored?
Actors played out their situation with the presenter one of them, but he explained things to the camera too.
qjs

Found it: 'Surviving Disaster on http://www.spike.com. Where you can view full episodes (but not from the UK)
qjs