Protective Actions To Take With A Shooter

Tips From Homeland Security:

Protective Actions To Take With A Shooter

The FBI has not set a minimum number of casualties to qualify an event as a mass shooting, but U.S. statute (the Investigative Assistance for Violent Crimes Act of 2012) defines a “mass killing” as “3 or more killings in a single incident.” 

By D. S. Mitchell

A Lovely Dinner

I think it was 2001. My husband and I were having dinner on the sidewalk service area of a popular restaurant & bar at the corner of SE Milwaukie Ave and Powell Blvd in Portland, Oregon. It was about  10:30 pm. We were having fun, lingering over a glass of wine and laughing and chatting with other diners.

Running In All Directions

Several loud “cracks” caused me to look around curious, but certainly not frightened. Several more “cracks” echoed in the night. By that time, I realized the sound was coming from the AM/PM gas station across the street. People in the gas station parking lot were screaming and running in various directions. It was only then, I saw flashes of light coming from the driver’s window of a small red  sports car, stopped on Powell Blvd.

In The Leg

More shots rang out and a man thirty feet to the left of me, in the restaurant pavilion area fell to the ground screaming. He had fallen to the sidewalk clutching a leg wound. The time between the first shot and my realizing I was in an active shooter situation was probably an entire minute. Realization time. If the bullet had been 30 feet to the right either my husband or I could have been shot; probably in the head since we were sitting and the injured man had been standing.

Little Red Sportscar

The shooter revved the engine, popped the clutch, and sped away. I’m an RN and I have a duty to give aid,  so I raced across the street to help. The Portland Police were on site at the same time as I got there. Several ambulances arrived, sirens screaming. Two young men were wounded, one with a bullet in the upper arm and the other fellow with a bullet in the shoulder.  In addition to the three wounded two others lay dead. All the dead and wounded at the AM/PM were young- most likely high school age.

“There He Is!”

While the cops were asking questions, I saw the perpetrator’s red sports car slow down and slowly drive past the crime scene, again. They say criminal frequently return to the scene of the crime, but this guy was unbelievably stupid. I raised my arm and pointed toward the car and screamed, “There he is, there’s the shooter!” The wounded young man sitting on the asphalt, that I had been helping, chorused, ‘There’s the son of a bitch! There’s the shooter!!!”

The Morning Oregonian

The cops were on it and I read in the morning Oregonian, two 16 year old Cleveland high school students, members of a notorious local gang, were arrested on suspicion of murder and were being held in jail as adults. I tossed the paper on the breakfast table. What a waste. Two funerals and potentially two life sentences for the perpetrators.

Unready, Unprepared

All situations are different. I think one of the reasons it took so long for me and other diners to realize there was a shooting in progress was because we were across the street from the center of the events, with lots of traffic and noise between us. It wasn’t until a fellow diner was shot by a ricocheting bullet that any of us realized there was even a shooting. Another factor, I believe, may have something to do with the fact that in 2001 mass shooters were not quite as common as today. Whatever the reasons, we were stupidly unprepared for this deadly situation.

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The Department of Homeland Security offers Americans several suggestions that might save your life if you are caught in an Active Shooter Situation.

Run

If you can get out of the situation, do it. Run toward the first escape route you can find. Leave your belongings and just get away. Once safe, dial 911 and give the police all the information you can.

Play Dead (this is NOT on the DHS list)

I have added this suggestion. I have heard several survivors of mass shootings tell of rubbing blood from victims on themselves and hiding in plain site among the dead as the shooter moves away to find new victims.

Hide

If you can’t escape; take cover, find a place to conceal yourself. You want to be out of sight, with some offered protection, between you and the shooter, such as a locked door. If you can blockade the door with furniture-do it. Be smart, turn off your cellphone as an unexpected call could alert the shooter to your location.

Fight

Take action against the shooter only as a last resort. Throw items and improvise weapons in an effort to disrupt and incapacitate the shooter.

When Law Enforcement Arrives

When the cops arrive, immediately put down any weapons or items you have in your hands. Keep your hands visible and raise your arms. Follow instructions. Refrain from making quick movements toward the officers.