Braden posted this comment on “Making our point for us in Thousand Oaks“.
“Since when is it my job to protect other people? We are told we are not police and when we come to the aid of strangers we do so with some legal peril.
My CCW is for me and my family and maybe, just maybe, a stranger.”
He is not wrong even if we disagree because the question of what to do as a Civilian in case of a Mass Shooting Incident simply does not have one answer.
I have been thinking about the “right” answer since I got my FL CWP and you will probably see it reflected in the blog if you have been with us since the beginning. I kept changing my answer: First i was all gun-ho and “Hell Yes! I will fill the asshole full of holes!” and then as time passed and the realities set in, I went to “OH hell no!” and it has been back and forth and in between for a long time.
The conclusion I came to is that the answer will never be known till you are involved in a situation like that and after having all factors processed in one big ass hurry. Are you alone? Are you with armed family? Are you with unarmed family and kids? Is the shooter coming your way? Is he going away? Is he above/below you? Are people running away from the shooter and stampeding towards you? Are you full of health that day? Are you sick? Can you and yours evacuate? Are you cornered and ran out of choices?
And even if you die, it does not mean your answer was wrong.
The permutations are endless.
Never an easy answer, but in my case, if I can help it, I’m not going out without a fight.
Again, I don’t know what I will do until it (hopefully never) happens. But I don’t know the guy’s motivation. Is he going to just kill his ex-wife? Is he going to kill witnesses? Is he there to get his name on the news for highest body count in a mass shooting? Did I not hear “Allah Akbar” before the gunshots?
If he’s going to kill one person, he has the potential to kill many and I don’t want to get shot in the back running away.
“The conclusion I came to is that the answer will never be known till you are involved in a situation like that and after having all factors processed in one big ass hurry.”
Bingo.
Take also into account your gut reaction. At lot of times it overrides the logical side of your brain, despite how many times you practice.
I know if I see someone shooting a bunch of kids in a park, I’ll likely empty 2 magazines into that bastard. And then possibly get shot by the popo’s, given how things are nowadays. I might want to approach the situation logically but there are times you can’t help but to go with your gut feeling and then hope for the best.
Tough choices, either way.
As you said, nobody really knows what they will do until the situation presents itself.
Part of the problem is not just what the law says in your state, but what the reality behind the law is. For example, in NH it’s crystal clear that deadly force is authorized to protect others who are in danger of their lives, or of rape. But what I don’t know: if you respond accordingly, how much pain will you suffer before being vindicated? Or, for that matter, *are* you likely to be vindicated?
Someone sticking up the Stop and Rob? I will be the best witness for the police that I can be, as me and mine duck and head for the rear fire exit. Yes I know where they are in the half dozen I frequent. Some are not at the rear, but on the side, near the front.
If I hear shooting or screaming at the mall or store, I think my job is to get mine and the other customers headed for the exits, before they see us. If It all goes to heck, then I will make my stand.