What to Do During a Mass Shooting

In the aftermath of Sunday’s shooting, many pundits are cynically wondering what an armed citizen could have done to stop this. The answer is nothing, of course, but that’s not the point. This was an aberrational attack obviously intended to avoid such a prospect. Many times though, armed citizens can and do save the day.

First, avoid large crowds and places where you are disarmed.

Disrupt the shooter.

Anything you can do to frustrate the shooter’s plans can help to keep others alive and end the attack. Make him react to you. He may not have planned what to do when a citizen counterattacks. Infantry are taught to break an ambush by charging the attackers to seize the initiative.

Undersheriff McMahill reported that the shooter fired for 9-11 minutes. Apparently, the guard disrupted the attack by spooking the shooter. A security guard went directly to the room during the shooting and was shot when the suspect saw the guard approaching down the hallway. Officers working at Mandalay Bay assembled into a team and shortly followed the officer up. It is highly probable that the guard’s approach is what caused the shooter to stop and commit suicide.

Get behind/under cover.

Cover stops a bullet, concealment is something that makes you not visible, but won’t stop a bullet. A hedge is concealment, a concrete wall is cover. Cars make poor cover, but are better than nothing. In context of the Mandalay Bay shooting, the thick plywood of the stage would stop or slow down a bullet enough to mitigate its wounding effectiveness.

Create distance between you and the shooter.

Run away as fast as you can. Don’t zig zag, just run for cover. Don’t free, don’t wonder what’s going on. Get under cover and stay there. Don’t follow the crowd either. Ambushers expect their targets to freeze or be drawn further into the kill zone. This is especially important to remember during a mass shooting. Don’t unwittingly run into the arms of second shooter.

Be prepared to fight back.

Initial reports (rumors) were that there may have been multiple shooters. If there were multiple shooters, it would be entirely in character to have the elevated shooter panic the crowd and drive them into other shooters at the exit. If this was the case, the disarmed crowd, which included off-duty cops, would have been unable to fight back. Armed citizens can and have stopped mass shootings. Fighting back against a sniper with a handgun isn’t possible, but you might well need a handgun to fight accomplices.

In this respect, venues shouldn’t be disarming off-duty cops and licensed concealed carriers. Most venues are concerned about gang shootings (a very real concern) and drunk people with guns doing stupid things. However, studies have shown that licensed concealed carriers are more law-abiding than even police officers as a whole nationally. Allowing police to carry should be a no-brainer. Unless a venue can provide credible armed security to safeguard its guests, it has no business disarming good citizens.

Get medical training and equipment.

Stopping the shooter and getting out of the kill zone is only the first part of the battle. When the shooting stops, gun gadgets aren’t going to help. Knowledge of how and where to correctly apply pressure, how to check for wounds, or how to apply a tourniquet or bandages will be in demand. Firefighters and paramedics do not charge into “hot zones” to provide medical care until the police secure it. Help may not be coming directly to you right away. If you can’t carry a small medical kit on your person, put one in your car. But knowledge can go anywhere with you. You don’t need to be an EMT, but first aid training is a start.