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Opinion

BE PREPARED: Tips for Surviving Mass Murder Attempts

by Greg Hpkins
Clash Daily Contributor

In my previous articles, I wrote about how militias can be used to protect our schools and recommended church security teams. This article will consider encountering random mass killers in other places. You are likely to have your family with you at the time, so make sure that you have the maximum legal protection allowed for yourself and your loved ones. Thankfully, in most states today, that legal protection can easily be a handgun.

Your first priority is to get proper training in gun safety and proper use. Next, you need to get competent legal training so you know the laws concerning use of force and the limits of carry in your state. If a situation forces you to shoot, you are criminally and civilly liable for where your bullets land. So make sure you know how and when to use your gun. As Dirty Harry said, “A man has got to know his limitations.” You don’t want to save your family physically only to end up behind bars or destroying yourself financially.

Second, realize that you are not a cop and are under no legal obligation to save anyone but yourself and your family. If there is an exit, TAKE IT! Teach your family the difference between Concealment (keeps the bad guy from seeing you), and Cover (objects that stop bullets). Just because restaurant tables in movies stop bullets does not mean they will in real life. Teach your kids to run away from the gunman as quickly as possible and as directly to an exit as they can. (No, zig-zagging doesn’t help.) Every yard they put between themselves and the killer exponentially lowers the chance of being hit. Teach them to run to the outside of the killers’ trigger hand. The main thing, though, is to MOVE! Don’t cower under a desk hoping the killer will overlook you. As soon as there’s a chance, RUN! If you have to throw a chair through a window, do it! But DON’T be a sitting duck! Teach your family these things. Paul tells Timothy, “but anyone who does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” (1 Timothy 5:8)

I recommend you read Chris Bird’s new book, Surviving a Mass Killer Rampage. It analyzes every US mass murder event since the 1966 Texas tower massacre. It describes the threats from Muslim radicals. It details one of the best solutions yet for placing armed teachers in schools: Ohio’s FAST training program for teachers and administrators. Chris relates facts on mass killings shared by law enforcement and Homeland Security.

On average, active killers shoot about five victims per minute. Notice I didn’t say “kill.” Only one in four victims shot with a handgun die. (Unless they freeze, allowing the killer to take head shots from close range.) In addition, the calibers often used by mass killers from AR and AK-type rifles are designed to wound, usually resulting in kill ratios of one-in-four in actual shootings. Half of all mass murder events are stopped by someone confronting the killer; twenty-five percent by unarmed people, twenty-five percent by either armed citizens or cops (usually alone in both cases). The killer ends the other half of mass murders. The killer either commits suicide or he flees or runs out of ammo.

Ninety-eight percent of all mass killers act alone. Eight percent will have a rifle or shotgun. They usually shoot until someone confronts or stops them. They hit their targets about fifty percent of the time because: no one is shooting back or otherwise fighting them, and they usually shoot their cowering, frozen victims at short range. However, except for trained terrorists, they are no match for trained police or citizens with guns.

Disbelief and incomprehension are the killers’ initial advantages. You will always hear witnesses and victims say, “I couldn’t believe it!” Or those unfamiliar with the sound of gunfire might respond, “I thought it was fireworks, or a car backfiring!” (Honestly, when was the last time anybody heard a car backfire?) The shock factor might cause you to delay calling 911. When you do call, give “Location, Situation, Location.” Giving the location first allows cops to head for the scene if you’re hit before you get out the whole message. If the cops arrive in 10 minutes, that’s an extremely rapid response. But the killer will likely have shot 15 people in three minutes if not stopped or distracted by those at the scene. The Virginia Tech killer shot 47 people in about 8 minutes, while the Sandy Hook killer killed 26 and wounded 2 in about 6 minutes. What if there had been one trained, armed citizen at either place to shoot back?

Teach your family a code word so they know to instantly shut up and pay attention. Teach them that it means all orders must be obeyed instantly because their survival is at stake. Are both you and your spouse armed and trained? Will the five-shot snubby you carry give adequate cover fire so they can escape? Maybe you should consider carrying a 15-round semi-auto with a spare magazine or two instead. Have you taken a trauma First Aid course? Everyone needs to re-examine the word, emergency.

It’s time to realize that such things are possible, and prepare. “A wise man is strong, and a man of knowledge increases strength. For by wise guidance you will wage war, and in an abundance of counselors there is victory.” (Proverbs 224:5-6)

Image: Shutterstock; ID: 597142580

greg-hopkinsGreg Hopkins is a recovering lawyer, city prosecutor, police Use-of-Force law instructor, former city judge in two towns and criminal defense lawyer. He’s been teaching the Bible to teens and adults for 40 years. He now trains CCP holders and armed church security teams in self defense law. He also does expert witnessing in firearms and self defense cases. His book is A Time To Kill: The Myth of Christian Pacifism, on the Bible and self defense.

Share if you agree a wise man will be prepared for this kind of a deadly situation.

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