House learns to handle a shooter

The instructions are part of a push on Capitol Hill to improve security for lawmakers and staff in the wake of the attempted assassination of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) in a Tucson shopping center Saturday.

“I’m attaching a link to a document responding to active shooters which I believe may be immediately useful,” Livingood wrote in the message.

It instructs readers first to try to get away from a shooter, then to hide, and finally “as a last resort, and only when your life is in imminent danger, attempt to disrupt and/or incapacitate the active shooter by: Acting as aggressively as possible against him/her; Throwing items and improvising weapons; Yelling; [and] Committing to your actions.”

“Because active shooter situations are often over within 10 to 15 minutes, before law enforcement arrives on the scene, individuals must be prepared both mentally and physically to deal with an active shooter situation,” the guide advises.

via House learns to handle a shooter – Jonathan Allen and Erika Lovley – POLITICO.com.

We completely agree with Mr. Livingood except for one point.  Shooting incidents are often over in much less time.  If you want to survive such an incident, you need to be ready to act, anytime & anywhere.

Some may wonder if this isn’t putting them in more danger to attack.  More danger?  More danger than what?  Than being a stationary target?

Despite what you see in movies, shooting a moving target is not easy, even at close range.  If you commit quickly, with the realization that it’s literally a “do or die” situation, we firmly believe that you stand a much better chance of survival.

On a final note, what happened in Tuscon was a great tragedy.  Our prayers go out to the victims and their families.