Worst Case Scenario…

Active Shooter – What Do You Do???

By Brent L. Anderson

Originally this article was written in 2015 but the strategies and tactics remain true. No single response is best for every possible occurrence, but if you are going to fight you must fight with total commitment and be Savage Not Average!

In 2015, CNN quoted an account related to an active shooter that read, “She said all of the students in her classroom dropped to the ground. They huddled together behind backpacks and chairs, underneath tables.”

The gunman entered her classroom firing at a community college classroom in Roseburg, Oregon, and gunned down nine people. At one point while reloading his handgun, the man ordered the students to stand up and asked whether they were Christians.

“And they would stand up, and he said, ‘Good, because you’re a Christian, you’re going to see God in just about one second,” Stacy Boylan told CNN, relaying his daughter’s account. “And then he shot and killed them.”

When an attacker enters a room firing a gun; cowering is the normal thing to do; it is the intuitive thing to do; it is what the average person will do… but it is the absolute WRONG thing to do in an active shooter situation. This is what the shooter expects and wants! If you want to live through a situation like this you must develop a “Let’s Roll!” mentality. Being surprised by gunshots and dropping to the ground is likely to happen spontaneously without thought but as soon as you hit the floor your mind must be racing on how to counter-attack and kill the threat IMMEDIATELY without hesitation if you want a chance to live. You must be Savage Not Average!

Another thing about this particular case that disturbed me is how the shooter lined up the class while he was reloading! The people just stood there and waited to be executed! Ducking in shock and surprise is expected behavior but the tick - tick - tick of seconds it took this killer to reload a handgun with no resistance from his victims is unforgivable. This was a community college of young adults completely capable of attacking the shooter.

I cover active shooter situations in the self-defense and threat elimination classes I teach. The methods I teach are specifically designed to eliminate (i.e. annihilate) a deadly threat in the 3 to 5 second window of time. However, you do not need specialized training to save lives – you need mental preparation more than any techniques. Hear this vitally important point: You DO NOT have to be a martial artist, military personnel, or trained law enforcement officer to react and save lives in an active shooter situation.

So, what is a person supposed to do? That is the wrong question. The only question and answer that matters is what are YOU going to do. YOU must search your heart and your mind; right now; right here before you find yourself in a life-and-death situation. You need to have a come-to-Jesus talk with your own heart, soul, and mental psyche. What are your assets, and what are you willing to do? Too many people hear stories of horrific events and they feel bad or sad or angry but they never take the time to mentally put themselves in that situation and problem-solve it.

Feel sad and mad about senseless violence, that is normal, but also treat each one as a learning experience. The first recommendation is, do not read, watch or listen to these stories as a passive bystander. Do not simply feel some uncomfortable emotions and move on to the next story. Ask ‘What will I do in a similar future event?’ Make it real in your mind, then problem-solve it.

This Is About You

What follows is not a general overview of techniques that “might” work; it is not armchair quarterbacking or judgment of what others should have done. This is not a commentary about the most recent shooting or others that preceded it – this is about YOU. My prayer is that this straightforward discussion will go far and wide and maybe, just maybe, someday – someone will live because they took the time to read this.

Reality: You may die. Accept this fact. We all die someday but it does not have to be at the hands of a murderer. Active shooter situations are so successful (i.e.: deadly) because they happen at a time and place of the murderers choosing and they have the dramatic and intense element of surprise.

This blitz attack gives them the upper hand; it gives them control (too often complete control) of the situation. That is why it is so appealing to cowards. Cowards want to play out their fantasy of being strong and in control. They want to hurt those who have wronged them (real or imagined), they want some sort of recognition, infamy or feeling of importance and they – more often than not – have made up their mind that this too is the day they are going to die either by their own hand or in a hail of police gunfire.

Active shooters are cowards but they are dangerous because they have nothing to lose. They are uncaring, heartless, and will not hesitate to kill you. Cowards are weak but vicious. Your strength, your valor, your savage righteousness must be stronger than their weak-minded viciousness. You must adopt a savage mindset that is grounded in virtue.

In an active shooter situation, the first classroom/office/group of people is always at the greatest disadvantage because of the shooter’s element of surprise. Even trained elite warriors with years of experience will have a hard time reacting to a surprise attack with no warning. Years of martial training will not protect someone from an unexpected bullet to the head but it does not mean you are without hope – it just means you have literally seconds to do something – anything other than roll up in a ball and wait for a shot to the head. The subsequent persons/groups or classrooms/offices have an advantage. They have multiple seconds (note I did NOT say minutes) to quickly prepare and motivate others in the group for action.

Let’s address the group/class/office that is attacked first. Responding effectively and spontaneously will be almost impossible. However, even in the first wave of the attack (when you are caught completely off guard) you can make a difference if you have rehearsed in your head what YOU will do if you are in this situation. It takes a will of the heart and mind to act in the extreme stress of a life-or-death survival situation. If the first bullet fired is aimed directly at you, you might be dead. If you are shot and still thinking – then you are not dead. You potentially have multiple seconds before you bleed out and die, plenty of time to take the shooter out and thus get medical attention for yourself and others. If it misses or if you are supposed to be the recipient of the second, third, fourth, or fifth bullet you have milliseconds to react. You will not react if you have never rehearsed this scenario in your mind regardless of the training you have or have not received in the past.

In this, worst case scenario, do not cower and hide if THERE IS NO PLACE to hide! Your best bet is to react in a way the murderer does not expect. If you are blocked in a room with no escape and the shooter sees you – knows you are there and is just taking his time to reload or take aim so that he can kill you – your ONLY chance of survival is an all-out berserk, crazy-eyed, teeth-bared, rabid dog, insane attack directed at the attacker. You may have only seconds to motivate others in the room to do the same but someone has to initiate the craziness. Notice my purposeful choice of words such as berserk and craziness – I am not advocating “techniques” or “specialized skills” or some pre-planned complex strategy. No, this is survival, anything goes, and the crazier and more unpredictable the better. In this situation, you MUST act or die! You may still die but your actions may save the lives of others simply by slowing the shooter down. Survival is all in, no-holds-barred, nothing held back, purposeful violence, and violence with a purpose – eliminate the threat.

First, activate crazy mode; second, activate the mob mentality. Remember this all takes place in mere seconds. Simultaneously as you activate your crazy mode you are yelling instructions/motivations to the equally condemned to death group.

Example:

You start throwing anything you can get your hands on at the shooter as you do so you are yelling “Get him!” “Throw everything you got at him!!” “Get him! Get him! Get him” Distract, disorient, and create chaos. The shooter came with the intent of prescribing the chaos he/she wants to play out – don’t play his game. Be a game changer; throw your own brand of chaos into the situation.

Backpacks, chairs, desks, purses, phones, ANYTHING! Throw it! Bombard the shooter and rush him at the same time. At this point, you and others may be shot, wounded, even lethally wounded but if you have the mentality that “I may be dead (dying) but I am taking this son-of-a-bitch with me” then you will continue to hit this person with all the violence and savageness you can muster.

Others will likely follow your lead and do the same but it has to start with you. There are only a precious few seconds. If you wait, if you hesitate, if you hold back to see if someone else will take the initiative – it’s already too late. You’re just dead. You become another victim in a sad news story.

Right now stop and ask yourself can I be that person? Can I go against every fear in my guts and bones and react – act – attack – no holds barred -with sheer bloodlust and violence? Do I have the will, the desire to save myself and to save others? Am I willing to lay down my life for my friends, and for strangers? Decide right now in your mind. If you say to yourself yes, I can do that, or I want to be that person, then you likely will be the one who does.

There is no “planning” for the unexpected but you can prepare your mind how to react when surprised. Nothing in this writing should be construed as advice on how to physically execute an attack – this article is focused on the mind and spirit of self-defense. The physical stuff is just made up as you go along and will be directly related to your environment. A classroom is different than an office building, a plane aisle is different from a train car, an outdoor mall is different from an indoor mall, and your home is different from a friend’s home.

Be the shooter’s worst nightmare

Escape and evade should always be your number one priority in an active shooter situation but when that worst case happens and the gunman is there to kill you and there is no place to hide – you must act or surrender complete control of your life to the shooter and let him do as he will with you. If that doesn’t sound like a good option to you then you must at the very least make yourself a hard target by moving erratically and bombarding the attacker with objects. In the best case, you can make yourself into the shooter’s worst nightmare – someone who has the audacity to fight back, attack, and attempt to kill the evil in the room.

People who study mass murderers have been amazed by the shooting accuracy of these murderers and attribute this to two factors. The perpetrators have likely practiced a fantasy in their head many times, so when the real deal happens they are participating in a well-practiced role as the active shooter. It is also well-documented that a majority of mass murderers have been avid video game enthusiasts. They have developed physical hand-eye coordination in virtual environments where they repeatedly shoot and kill virtual human beings. Their brains develop psychic numbing and calmness related to the execution of human beings in virtual environments which makes them more effective and lethal killers in a real environment.

Deliver Sensory Inputs

If the shooter meets resistance in the form of human beings rushing at them – like in a video game; this is likely something they are prepared for and expecting. In real life, those brave unarmed humans will likely be gunned down. However, if the shooter experiences confusion or pain that pushes them outside of their numb world of virtual training (i.e.: a solid object smashing into their head) you may succeed in pushing them out of their calm, numb, well-rehearsed mental state. I teach my students to deliver “sensory inputs” into the attacker. If you can pull the plug on the video game playing in their head and push them into a panic they will likely lose accuracy in their shooting ability. If they are presented with enough confusion and resistance they may decide to turn the gun on themselves and blow their own brains out. That’s fine if they do – but don’t count on it. Your mind must remain focused on what you are willing to do.

The best case for survival is a group attack, not a lone hero. If three, four, six, or eight cornered afraid people can be motivated by one individual (YOU) to snap out of shock and burst into action – imagine the effect on a shooter entering a room or rounding a corner where he is confronted with five objects flying at him from different directions, preferably these objects include chairs, desks, computers or things that can cause some serious damage and pain to the shooter. And the objects don’t stop coming… and the group is rushing in; moving close all the while. The murderer will be more likely to start firing rapidly and with desperation. Make no mistake this is a deadly, lethal strategy you are instigating – but what is the alternative? Duck and cover and wait for him to execute you? No way! Close the distance; avoid the weapon while grabbing the shooter. Again, a lone hero is likely to be killed in such a situation but a group of three, five or, eight can take this person down and out.

This is the last thing a shooter expects. They have played their evil fantasy in their head many times and today is the day they are going to walk through a building unchallenged picking targets at will. They envision themselves in complete control doling out death and destruction as they see fit. They are playing out their fantasy. In their fantasy world, they are the one calling the shots, they chose when the reign of terror ends and when they are ready to die by their own hand or at the hand of the police. Their fantasy is sick, evil, and preplanned. The last thing their perverted ego wants to think about is walking into a room where every man, woman, and child is heaving chairs, phones, desks, and bags at his head and wild-eyed crazy women are ripping at his eyeballs with their manicured fingernails and men are grabbing, punching, pulling him to the ground and little children biting his legs and some old women pulling the gun out of his hand, breaking his teeth as she shoves it in his mouth to pull the trigger. That is not his fantasy!

Notice, I made up an unorthodox scenario as an example – children biting his legs; an old woman sticking his own gun in his mouth to blow his brains out. Crazy? Your damn right! And a real situation should be even crazier than what I can make up. I wrote that on purpose because the general public is so brainwashed by the fight scenes in movies and TV. Real-life self-defense is messy, ugly, and non-rehearsed. Survival is not about “fighting” it is not about practicing “techniques” it is about mental tenacity, a will to live, and having a heart for justice and righteousness. If you have training or experience in fighting it will help you immensely and increase your chances but you are the one to judge your own heart, mind, and tenacity to survive.

The mistake that so many “experts” make when providing confrontational advice is getting bogged down in the ridiculous preaching of techniques. “Put your keys between your fingers and punch the attacker.” “Use a pencil to stab them in the eye.” The sport jujitsu fad is also teaching people to grapple and control deadly threats with sports techniques. An active killer is not an opponent, they are a deadly threat. You do not grapple a killer who is shooting people – you jam your finger in his eye socket up to the third knuckle, you crush his throat, you bash his head in with your elbows or a fire extinguisher – you have to eliminate and annihilate the threat. It's not your job to "arrest" the killer it is your job to eliminate the threat by any and all means possible. Only then will the injured be able to get life saving medical care.

Mindset is key

There is nothing wrong with sticking a pencil in an attacker’s eye or using jujitsu skills– I too teach these to my students. The point is the mindset. A person does not want to “struggle” with an attacker (sport jujitsu) instead they need to dominate -break-disable and destroy the attacker (combat jujitsu). The lifesaving MINDSET I teach my students is most important. A complete all-out savageness of thought and purpose. If you do not have the will to destroy a murderous attacker by ALL and ANY means possible then no amount of techniques, tricks, and novel self-defense fantasies are going to save you.

Weapons of Opportunity

YOU are the weapon and all things within your reach are tools to multiple your force. We call these "force multipliers". I may be able to punch an attacker with my fist but using all my core strength to swing my elbow into an attackers face is better. Swinging a heavy chair or a baseball bat at an attackers head is better than an elbow. A shotgun blast is better than a chair, etc. A weapon can be anything you use as a force multiplier. One of the most valuable self-defense weapons you can find in a public place (short of carrying a firearm) is to grab the nearest fire extinguisher. I often teach a Women As Warriors™ class at the local community college. The last time I taught there were two fire extinguishers in the room and two more at each end of the hallway outside of the room. Believe me, it will be very difficult to accurately shoot a gun if you are being blasted by fire extinguishers from one much less four or five multiple directions (distraction). The canister is also a great weapon for bashing in the shooter’s head (destruction). If your school or place of employment will not allow weapons then they should make sure that every room in the building has a fire extinguisher regardless if it is required by the Fire Marshal.

Summary: DESTROY!

By whatever means possible - close in on the shooter to the grabbing/striking/ripping/clawing range. Remember this is not “fighting” this is life and death. DO NOT wrestle a man with a gun; destroy the man with the gun! Whenever possible always attack the eyes. I’m not talking some namby-pamby poke to the eyes. Shove your finger into the eye socket up to the third knuckle and grab with all your might until you feel a pop and hear anguished screams. Don’t “choke the guy out” grab the Adam’s apple with the ferocity of a pit bull and crush it with all the strength you have until you hear and feel crunching, gurgling sounds.

That is the kind of mindset I teach my students. The particular technique is not important. The weapon of opportunity is not what wins the fight it is the warrior’s savage mindset that will give you an edge in a hopeless situation. If YOU have the Savage Not Average mindset then you can motivate a group of strangers into action. YOU can make a difference!