Las Vegas Shooter: What Could You Do Under Those Circumstances?

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  • rhino

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    It might be too soon to discuss this, but as soon as it happened my brain started trying to think of ways to reduce your chance of dying when you're in a crowd of 20,000 people in a small area and some horrible excuse for a person starts firing into the crowd from the 32 floor of an adjacent building.

    So far, my analysis has yielded:

    1. Avoid big crowds. I do this whenever possible and this is just another example why I am glad that I have no interest in activities that involve big crowds of people.

    2. The best course of action I could conceive was to start moving and get as far away from the bulk of the crowd as quickly as possible. I think if he was aiming in a conventional sense, it was at the crowd and not targeting and hitting individuals. Of similar importance would be to move to any available cover at the same time you're separating yourself from the crowd.

    #2 necessitates being very aware of your surroundings, observing potential routes of egress long before anything bad started to happen, and noting places where you might be able to take cover. Then, form a plan and a backup plan to minimize the dithering and decision making that will be next to impossible under that kind of stress. Some people do this kind of thing on a smaller scale when they walk into a restaurant, but it seems like the concept would be solid for a variety of situations.
     

    Backpacker

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    I am probably considered an odd duck, but I have long avoided large groups of people where I would not have access to a quick exit. I am always looking for exits whether I am in traffic or the grocery store. I probably miss out on some fun times but safety comes first.
     

    jsharmon7

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    I thought about this as well! I'm not willing to avoid crowds or travel or anything of that sort simply because of the unlikely chance of being involved in a terrorist attack. I'll be at Garth Brooks this weekend and would never consider skipping something like that out of fear. If I had the opportunity to visit London or Paris I would be there in a heartbeat. So the next best option for me is to try to stay ahead of the curve. Locating exits, finding nearby cover, setting priorities based on who I'm with, etc. are all important. I think that going into any such event with the mindset that something could happen will help get you thinking ahead and greatly improve your reaction. Playing the "what if" game will put your brain through potential scenarios and how you will react long before they actually occur.
     

    Alpo

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    Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet.--James N. Mattis is a retired United States Marine Corps general who served as the Commander of the U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) from 2010 to 2013. He was sworn in as the U.S. Secretary of Defense, January 20, 2017.

    Avoid large crowds. Know your exit options. An individual is at risk of being flanked.
     

    rhino

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    I am probably considered an odd duck, but I have long avoided large groups of people where I would not have access to a quick exit. I am always looking for exits whether I am in traffic or the grocery store. I probably miss out on some fun times but safety comes first.

    Me too!



    I thought about this as well! I'm not willing to avoid crowds or travel or anything of that sort simply because of the unlikely chance of being involved in a terrorist attack. I'll be at Garth Brooks this weekend and would never consider skipping something like that out of fear. If I had the opportunity to visit London or Paris I would be there in a heartbeat. So the next best option for me is to try to stay ahead of the curve. Locating exits, finding nearby cover, setting priorities based on who I'm with, etc. are all important. I think that going into any such event with the mindset that something could happen will help get you thinking ahead and greatly improve your reaction. Playing the "what if" game will put your brain through potential scenarios and how you will react long before they actually occur.

    Well, this specific topic leads to that, but that's not why I avoid crowds. I avoid crowds because I hate being in crowds. I have no interest in activities that involve crowds. It's a bonus that I can reduce a significant source of risk (being in a crowed) because of a choice I've already made. Terrorist attacks and mass murderers are very unlikely. I'm far more concerned with more mundane, but far more deadly threats like fires. ANYTHING that will cause a crowd to panic is potentially life threatening.
     

    BehindBlueI's

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    Move. Pray to the diety of your choice. Continue to move.

    You are caught in an ambush with no way to counter assault. Movement is the least lousy option.
     

    Alpo

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    Apparently, there were trampling deaths or injuries as a result of crowd panic. Going against the flow might not be possible but angling away might.
     

    obijohn

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    Do you think my idea to try to move away from the "target" (i.e. the crowd) has merit?

    Perhaps. It also may single you out as a target. Movement, and movement to cover is about all can be done in that situation. That and prepare your med kit.
     

    VERT

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    In the future I will buy extra tickets to all public events and invite Rhino. Cover/Concealment, extra ammo, medical supplies, flashlights all in one self contained and portable package.

    Truthfully I am not sure what I would do. Hard to move in the middle of a large crowd plus it would take time to even get your mind switched over to exactly what is happening.
     

    Coach

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    I am not as against crowds as Rhino. But I decided last February that I was never going back to Bankers Life Fieldhouse for an event. I was there for the IHSAA Wreslting state Finals. I was expected to take off me belt in order that I might kept safe. That pissed me off to no end. A mid aged obsese women demanding that I take off me belt in the name of safety. I told her I would be safer with my pistols and knives that I would ever be taking off my belt.

    I am afraid that such "security" will be come more common now. If it does it may change my life drastically. I love my liberty and freedom and such measures will drastically change what I do in public.

    As far as the question:

    1) Don't be in a place where you have to weaponless and are penned up for slaughter.
    2) This Vegas case is an outlier. Seldom do these attacks happen at such distances with rifles. University of Texas 1966 is another, and it is the reason SWAT exists. No handgun solves either problem from the target zone. But tactical pressure on the gunman solved it. It just took 71 minutes longer than was needed.
    3) Move to cover.
    4) From cover get on the phone and give directions to 911 as to where the fire is coming from as best you can. What building, floor, direction that sort of thing.
    5) Hope is not a course of action.
    6) I have started carrying a carbine in the truck. It is not a .223. But a 30/30 for added punch for vests if necessary. Plus it is cheap in the event it gets stolen.
     

    cerebus85

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    I refuse to be that afraid of a mass shooting that I avoid all large crowds. I can prepare by knowing my surroundings though. This whole living like its Iraq doesn't do it for me. Ill carry where I can and adapt to my surroundings to suit my needs.
     

    lovemachine

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    I don’t know what I’d do in this situation. I do know that this makes me want to learn medical. Just the idea of holding a family member that was shot, and not knowing what to do, scares me.
     

    Denny347

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    It might be too soon to discuss this, but as soon as it happened my brain started trying to think of ways to reduce your chance of dying when you're in a crowd of 20,000 people in a small area and some horrible excuse for a person starts firing into the crowd from the 32 floor of an adjacent building.

    Run...sometimes it's all you can do.
     

    bwframe

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    I have a great video juke box sitting in front of me. Huge selection and plenty nice enough sound.

    Forget about getting shot. Being trampled has always been a real concern. Especially after Sunday, firecrackers set off could cause trampling deaths in massive crowds.

    Word is the coward shooter was 500ish yards away. As coach said, that's an outlier.
    If that yardage changes to 2-300, the truck carbine starts to be a consideration.
     

    Coach

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    I refuse to be that afraid of a mass shooting that I avoid all large crowds. I can prepare by knowing my surroundings though. This whole living like its Iraq doesn't do it for me. Ill carry where I can and adapt to my surroundings to suit my needs.

    Fear is not quite the right way to put it. Active shooter is not a fear. Being disarmed to go to a show, sporting event, concert, or whatever is the fear or deal breaker. I will take my chances with an active shooter if I have my guns. I am not willing to walk in and sit down and be a nice quiet little victim any place other than school, and I don't like doing it there.
     

    Tanfodude

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    One of my buddies talke about staying close to dead bodies as the shooter will be spraying on moving targets.

    Or stay close to Rhino and use Rhino as cover.
     

    Backpacker

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    I refuse to be that afraid of a mass shooting that I avoid all large crowds. I can prepare by knowing my surroundings though. This whole living like its Iraq doesn't do it for me. Ill carry where I can and adapt to my surroundings to suit my needs.

    I am not afraid of mass shooting at large crowds. My concern is fire or mass hysteria causing people to trample each other.
     
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