Active Shooter at the Mall with your wife.

  • Leave wife, run toward danger.

    Votes: 2 5.3%
  • Stick together, run away from danger.

    Votes: 36 94.7%

  • Total voters
    38
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You are at the mall, with your wife. You are armed, as you usually are, with your normal EDC—whatever that is for you. It is busy, maybe Black Friday, or during the last few days of Christmas shopping. You hear “firecrackers” in the nearby Cafe Square and you are afraid they aren’t really firecrackers. Do you A) Leave your wife and run toward the danger, or B) Grab your wife and run away from the danger. Bonus Discussion Points if you explain WHY.
 
I'm no longer married but I will still be going away from the gunfire.
Why?
There are many reasons why I'd leave the scene ASAP. Mostly because I am not going to be running into the problem with gun in hand. How would others responding (police, mall security) know which guy with a gun was the bad one and which was the good one?
 
With no way of letting others around me know I was one of the good guys there's no way I'd go running towards the sound of the shots.

If I were in the immediate line of fire from the perpetrator I'd do what I had to do. But, once the threat was removed (in whatever way) I'd immediately put my piece away.

Situations such as those are very dangerous for anyone visibly holding a firearm who are not wearing a plainly visible police or security uniform.
 
I suppose it would depend on how long we had been shopping together, and if she had me wait while she tried stuff on...or dragged me into Yankee Candle to "just smell this one"....or the gol blessed Bath and Body Works to ....ok I'm getting a bit off track. ;) I don't go to the mall for a myriad of reasons, but active shooter is pretty low on the list. In any event I don't go running into trouble. In the event of active shooter in a public place, I find cover. If I have to use a firearm to defend myself or my family, that's one thing....I'm not sprinting across the food court to do it...may huck a few yankee candles at him though:p
 
I feel my no.1 duty is protecting my family.
If the shooter was a direct threat to my family I would do whatever it takes to silence it.
My wife of 39yrs knows better than ask me to go to any roads around a mall much less to the mall.
 
Running TOWARDS danger is OFFENSIVE. My gun is for DEFENSIVE purposes.

The only time I'm engaging a shooter in a public situation is if I come into direct contact with them while I'm on my way out, or obviously if I'm in direct contact when they decide to start shooting.


Those of us that aren't LE have no obligation and do ourselves a disservice by going towards danger when self defense is what we're limited to.
 
Even back in the years when I was an active cop --- getting involved in any kind of gunplay off duty is terribly dangerous. We used to advise our young officers to get to a phone and "call it in" - that was their best course of action. All these years later when everyone has a cell phone calling it in should be one of the first things to do as you move towards safety... We also specifically required our plainclothed officers to put on a jacket or some other means of clearly identifying themselves to the public if they just had to intervene in any kind of situation where firearms might be needed. Down here in south Florida there are so many different police outfits that you never know who will be coming when shots are fired. Way back in 1974 when I came out of the police academy there were actually 27 different local police agencies for Dade county alone (the Miami area...). In the years since then it's only gotten worse.... and I'm not counting federal outfits in this calculation at all...

Avoiding an armed confrontation is always the best move - unless you have no other choice period. That's pretty good advice for everyone - police officer off duty - or armed citizen... Anyone that dreams of standing up in an armed shooter situation is not doing themselves or their families a bit of good. The worst part of it all is that you'll rarely know if someone in front you with a firearm in hand is one of the "good guys" or not... so staying out of the action if at all possible is always your best bet - unless you are directly threatened.
 
You are at the mall, with your wife. You are armed, as you usually are, with your normal EDC—whatever that is for you.
MY wife is "usually" armed too, with her "normal" EDC. And whether you believe it or not, she can probably defend herself with her "normal" EDC better than you can with your "normal" EDC. But the key word here is "defend." My wife is not about to play SWAT team member by leaving me and running towards danger - that would be, as Good Ol' Boy said, "OFFENSIVE." My wife's and my EDC guns are for "DEFENSIVE" purposes.
Your options were: "Leave wife, run towards danger." and Stick together, run away from danger." That's not enough options. And the first one, "Leave wife, run towards danger." is absurd. IMHO of course.
 
Thank you all for your replies. So far, the score is 15:0 for staying together and running away from danger. What is interesting is that there was a recent mass stabbing on London Bridge and a fair number of people did indeed run toward the danger. Two of the several people who went up against the knife-armed killer used a fire extinguisher and a decorative narwhale tusk as weapons. Is that honestly offensive to you?
 
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You are at the mall, with your wife. You are armed, as you usually are, with your normal EDC—whatever that is for you. It is busy, maybe Black Friday, or during the last few days of Christmas shopping. You hear “firecrackers” in the nearby Cafe Square and you are afraid they aren’t really firecrackers. Do you A) Leave your wife and run toward the danger, or B) Grab your wife and run away from the danger. Bonus Discussion Points if you explain WHY.
A long time back,when I was a gung ho cop.

I actually might have put the wife in as safe a position as I could find [ lockable if possible ] then go take on the threat.

I have since seen the error of my ways and now see that getting the hell out of Dodge would be THE smart thing to do.

Especially since I am responsible for my wife moreso than any others in the line of fire.

I carry a VERY obvious marker that marks me as a RETIRED LEO,and if I deemed it truly necessary I would put the marker on and try to announce my presence and intended task.

BUT the prudent thing to do is use the cell to inform first responders what they might be facing,and unass the AO.
 
Thank you all for your replies. So far, the score is 15:0 for staying together and running away from danger. What is interesting is that there was a recent mass stabbing on London Bridge and a fair number of people did indeed run toward the danger. Two of the several people who went up against the knife-armed killer used a fire extinguisher and a decorative narwhale tusk as weapons. Is that honestly offensive to you?


Knives are very short-range weapons. It is probably much less stupid to go after someone with a knife than someone with a gun using Narwhal tusks & fire extinguishers, what with the reach advantage & all.
 
Thank you all for your replies. So far, the score is 15:0 for staying together and running away from danger. What is interesting is that there was a recent mass stabbing on London Bridge and a fair number of people did indeed run toward the danger. Two of the several people who went up against the knife-armed killer used a fire extinguisher and a decorative narwhale tusk as weapons. Is that honestly offensive to you?



So you went from an active shooter in the US where in most places it's legal to carry a gun, to a knife attack in a country where it's not legal to carry a gun?

Is it just me or do you have a hero complex? If so there are plenty of LE or military outfits that could probably use your service.

I think you have a skewed impression of civilian SD though.
 
First use of the term "sheeple" in a post is usually a sign that a thread has gone south ...

My obligation is to be a good witness, unless I'm directly confronted and in a position to act. My days of running toward the sound of guns are long over.

Although, if you ask me this question after I've had a few snorts of fine bourbon, my inner hero complex might seep out ...
 
First, I'm not in the scenario for a number of reasons. First reason our local mall is a watering hole. Going there is the epitome of being in a Stupid Place. Second reason my wife is disabled. She'd be worn out before she got from the car to the front door. So the bottom line is I'm not going to be there anyway.

Second, as almost every one who has responded has said the risks far outweigh the rewards. By the time I get there it's likely to be over anyway or I get there and shoot the wrong person or get shot as the wrong person myself.

I'm sorry but I don't carry a gun to be the good guy with a gun who stops the bad guy with a gun. Frankly people who do scare me. I carry a gun to defend myself and my family when all other options have failed. My first priority would be to get my wife out of the mall, nothing else takes precedence over that. By the time I've accomplished that the shooting is likely to be over anyway.
 
Thank you all for your replies. So far, the score is 15:0 for staying together and running away from danger. What is interesting is that there was a recent mass stabbing on London Bridge and a fair number of people did indeed run toward the danger. Two of the several people who went up against the knife-armed killer used a fire extinguisher and a decorative narwhale tusk as weapons. Is that honestly offensive to you?
An attacker with a knife has to get right next to you to kill you. (And a fire extinguisher and a narwhale tusk are both longer than a knife.) An attacker with a gun does not. So the scenario doesn't match the one in your poll.
 
I am not a Navy Seal, nor did I stay at a Holiday Inn last night, so no, running towards danger when you are in it is silly.
 
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