Mall shooting- what are you gonna do?

[stevereno1]

This question was asked of me after I made a co-worker aware that I carry a gun and that I had been shopping at the local mall on the prior day while carrying. His response was a quite intellegent question; "what would you do if there was a shooting there and you were in the area" I immediately said "take cover". I wonder though, what would I do? In a shooting situation, the police have no idea who are the good guys or bad guys, any defensive shooting would create further panic, and I wonder what the correct course of action would be. My first instinct would be to get of harm's way and stay put. What if myself, or any of you were close enough to safely stop a threat? Your thoughts please.

 

[codybrown]

If I was close enough to eliminate the threat without placing a bystander in immediate risk, I think I would try to go that route. If I heard shots fired and couldn't see anything, I would take cover. It's a hard question to answer based on the situation. I just hope that I am never placed into a situation that I must protect myself and otehrs from a crazed gunman.

Cody

 

[JImbothefiveth]

I'd duct tape multiple trauma plates to my back

But seriously, one thing to think about would be if the shooter has a rifle or a handgun.

 

[Pete409]

I would take cover and look for an exit. Also, I would try to observe what was going on, i.e. who was doing the shooting and in what manner or fashion.

It's quite possible that a shooting might be in legal self defense or a plain clothes cop doing his job, so I wouldn't necessarily jump to any conclusion that a person with a gun was a bad guy.

 

[P90shooter]

Simple, be the hero... Get you and your family out of harms way.

There is no need to go looking for trouble.

 

[Treo]

I made a co-worker aware that I carry a gun

That was your first mistake.

 

[stevemis]

Easiest answer, I don't go to the mall. Honestly, not trying to be a jerk about it. Malls are crowded, noisy and overpriced. Too much walking is involved. Most are posted. There are plenty of stores that carry the same items outside of traditional shopping malls and are not victim disarmament zones.

Purchasing online is always an easy, mall-free shopping alternative.

 

[Deus Machina]

personally, the way i would go about it...

Take cover. Get your friends and family, especially if they're unarmed, out. Call 911 at absolute earliest possible.

Assess. Was it a plainclothes officer? Was it an SD shooting? Did they stop after one person ran or fell? That will be the giveaway. If so, let the cops handle it from there.

If not, think further: are there other people around, or has the place cleared out and left them without targets of opportunity. If it's clear, either A), what i would do if I could, figure which direction he's headed or go to the nearest place likely to have unaware people, warn them to get it locked down, call 911 to alert or keep dispatch updated, and evacuate.

Or B) find the nearest exit and get the hell out of dodge.

If it is an active shooter you can do the smart thing for yourself and run so fast your back pockets pass you on the way out, or be the hero, find an angle, and take the shot. Even if you don't hit him, most shooters stop then.

If it comes to that last option, look to make sure there aren't any other shooters. As soon as the threat has stopped, unload, lay the gun down or reholster, and call 911 again.

 

[Defense Minister]

Sorry for this post here. I was experimenting with posting a picture for starting a new thread.

 

[Jeff White]

My thoughts are that everytime this subject comes up the members divide into two camps, those who advocate taking action and those who advocate withdrawal. About 30 posts into the thread, members are calling each other cowards or cowboys.....by 50 posts we're deleting posts and warning members of the rules.

There is only one person who can provide the right answer to this question, that's the person who faces this problem. And the answer that person comes up with will probably only be the right answer for him at that place on that day.

THR is not the place to have this philosophical discussion.