What should you do (or teach your kids to do) when a psycho opens fire in a public place?

• Be aware of what’s going on. Many of these situations seem to unfold the same general way -- a disaffected person makes threats or threatening comments. He shows up at school (or work) dressed in military style camouflage clothing, pulls out a firearm and starts calmly and methodically firing. Look for people acting strangely or dressed inappropriately like wearing a long trench coat on a warm day.
• Believe yourself. Your eyes see the event unfolding, your ears hear the gunfire, you feel the impacts of bullets around you, you see glass shattering, people running, screaming or falling. Yet many people report they thought the event wasn’t real. They think it’s a joke. Or firecrackers. If you have been aware of what is happening around you, your body knows something is wrong -- heed the warning!
• Hit the ground! Your first priority is to get out of the line of fire, get on the ground immediately! Do not hesitate, move!
• Find cover. Get behind something that will stop bullets. Unfortunately, high-powered bullets can penetrate a large amount of common materials. Just because something conceals you from the gunman, that doesn’t mean you are behind cover. Look for brick walls, planters, mailboxes, cars, thick trees. A table top or a typical interior wall most likely will not be suitable cover.
• Get distance. Your chances for survival in a gunfight rise dramatically the further you are from the gunman. Crawl away from the shooting and try to get better cover or escape out a door or even a window.
• Escape! Often there is a noticeable, dramatic silence in the shooting when the gunman has run out of ammunition and is either reloading or switching to another weapon. This is your chance to make a move for an exit to escape. Several incidents like the Springfield, Oregon, the Luby’s cafeteria and the deranged man shooting at the White House with an SKS carbine were terminated when the gunman continued to try and fire an empty weapon and was subdued.

Chances are you will never need to follow this advice. However, there are bad people in the world, some watching the news coverage and seeing opportunities for copycat type of killings. In days past, when there were more armed citizens around and less media coverage for some outcast’s 15 minutes of fame, there were less of these types of incidents. You are responsible for your own personal security. Keep your guard up and stay safe.

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