Thursday, December 06, 2007

In A Mall When the Shooting Starts?

VERY useful advice from the Confederate Yankee, so I'll swipe/copy/paste for you.

Get in. The long, wide corridors and hallways lined with stores in a mall provide us with easy access from one store to another. In situations where a shooter is on the loose, they are also going to be the first route of escape for shoppers. The panicked rush of people attempting to use these corridors to escape increases the risk of being trampled in a mob. It goes without saying that these long open hallways provide next to no cover from any bullets fired. If you happen to be walking in the mall and a shooting occurs, get into the nearest store or side hallway.

Get low. Firearms, be they handguns, rifles, or shotguns, are typically fired from the shoulder. Most bullets or pellets travel roughly on a horizontal plane from shoulder to waist high. By going prone, you decrease your chances of getting hit. Once down, stay down. Bullets have no problem penetrating multiple layers of building materials. Just because you do not see the shooter does not mean you are out of danger.

Get out. Stores do not bring their merchandise in through the front door. Almost all have loading docks, and to comply with fire codes, an emergency exit that leads either to a back hallway, or provide directs access to the outside of the building. Look up for the "exit" sign on the ceiling at the back of the store, and make your way there as fast as possible, keeping as low as possible.

Keep moving. Once you make it outside, keep moving. Put as much physical space and as many physical objects between you and the scene as possible.

Since packing heat is illegal in Wisconsin, the following does NOT apply to residents of this State:

DO NOT be an idiot by drawing and attempting to take out the shooter from 50 yards with hundreds of people running around.

Take him out from 10 yards instead.

2 comments:

James Pawlak said...

No--Be a good enough shot to take him out at ten-yards with a spine shot from the rear.

James Pawlak said...

PS---I was just informed that the Omaha mall was, by State law and mall rules, a "gun free zone"---Just like Virgina Tech AND with the same free fire zone for crazy criminals.