I just finished watching (2:31 am) this documentary on CNN. It is an HBO Production so I am guessing it is being shown there. Let’s cut to the chase: If you have any interest in self-defense, you have to watch this show. Record it in your DVR and watch it again and again.

The documentary relies heavily on the video surveillance of the mall and it is graphically illustrative. Be ready to see people being murdered by some really screwed up individuals. Their attitudes were so nonchalant you’d think they were just tossing away an empty can of soda.

I am still processing what I saw, but already some old info has been reinforced and some new info processed:

1. Screw Gun Free Zones.  If I can’t carry, I am not patronizing/attending/visiting it. It was heart-wrenching to see thousands of people running or being herded and murdered by a handful of terrorists because they were without the means to shoot back.
2. If you choose to hide, do so away from any defined path. The terrorist were selecting most of the victims as they were walking and also looking for people hiding near natural avenues of movement. Those who got creative selecting where to hide had a better chance of surviving. Barricade doors or select places that have busy configurations as having so many available victims, it was easier for them to seek better/faster targets than do a through search.
3. Have a gun, carry spare ammo, use it. According to the documentary, the first to intervene were two armed bank security guards that engaged the terrorists at almost the outset. That threw a momentary monkey wrench on the killing allowing some people to escape, including the guards. Later (much later) 5 policemen and two armed civilians (We know that there were more armed civilians) pissed at the stupidity and paralysis of the armed forces, went inside and engaged the terrorists. These people are credited with saving hundreds of lives of hostages by distracting the terrorist long enough to initiate a mass escape via the loading dock.
4. Do not wait for government response. The authorities in Kenya fucked it up to levels that would make Wile E. Coyote cringe. It took them over 90 minutes to get organized enough to finally go inside and by that time the terrorists had grown tired and had adjourned to the back of a furniture store waiting to be martyred.  Our LEOs and Military are much better trained and the doctrine now is not to wait for reinforcements or tactical teams and charge right in, but still is gonna take too much time. In the video you will see the amazing amount of killing done in the initial 10 minutes or so. After that they were just moping up the hidden.
5. Learn First Aid and how to apply it to yourself. There were people who were wounded but did not die immediately but died anyway because not them nor their companions knew how to control bleeding and it took too long to rescue them. If you are able to carry or keep very nearby an Individual First Aid Kit (professional or home-made) do so. If not, learn to improvise bandages and tourniquets with whatever materials are with you or nearby. Stopping or slowing the bleeding increase the chances of survival.
6. Do not loiter or spend time in main entrances or outside the location. The terrorists did not wait to get inside the building to do their shooting but started almost immediately they got off their vehicle. Outside cafes & restaurants are chic/cool, but they are too inviting of a target and probably without an effective way to escape or even with a decent cover use as protection while returning fire.  I will continue to face the door at restaurants but I will be seated as far back from the entrance out of the line of fire and as close as possible to any exit available, preferable an employee exit. That being said…
7. Find and memorize escape routes and exits. Plan ahead what will you do “in case of” before doing anything else. When shit hits the fan, it is gonna be too late to calmly decide where to run safely and probably you will end up running along with the herd ending up corralled and killed.
8. Learn to effectively shoot  two targets at different distances.  The terrorists in Kenya and in Mumbai initially started working in pairs. In the video you can see that sometimes they were at arms reach of each other and sometimes they were 20 or more feet away from each other but in visual range.  They were walking but at a leisurely pace so they are moving targets, but not terribly so.

CNN will play this documentary several times in the next 7 days so you have a chance to record it. I am planning on getting the DVD when it comes out and watch it every now and then to remind myself how cruel and chaotic events like this really are.