(Editor’s Note: The writer has been for 23 years a deputy sheriff in Alabama, and the brother of Bob Foreman of Grayson. His web site is www.paulforeman.com. His email address is Captureman@PaulForeman.com. He sends this along to offer suggestions to anyone caught in an attack of any kind. –eeb)
By Paul Foreman
ATHENS, Ala., Dec. 15, 2015 — This past week’s terrorist attack in California has frightened many of us. For several years now, our nation has experienced mass shootings at schools, churches, shopping malls, and now mass shootings by Islamic terrorists. The Department of Homeland Security basically instructs us to “hide in place, barricade the doors and wait for the government to rescue you.” Ronald Reagan once said, “The most dangerous words you could hear, ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’”
Foreman
Here are some of my own more realistic steps to take.
First, escape if you can. Go! Get out of there. Leave all your belongings BEHIND! Help others escape if they will cooperate. I saw a video of an active shooter in a school board meeting in Northwest Florida. When the shooter came in and announced his intentions, people in the gallery were gathering up their coats and purses before getting out! Don’t do that! Leave immediately!
Then, once outside and in a safe position, stop others from unknowingly walking into a deadly situation.
Immediately call 911 as soon as possible,. If the 911 operator tells you to stay on the phone, do it.
However, if you cannot escape, try to hide out of the shooter’s view. Barricade the doors with anything heavy you can find. Get behind heavy furniture, desks or file cabinets. If possible, keep an escape route open. Use bathrooms as a last resort. Lock the doors; use toilet lids or mirrors as improvised weapons.
If none of the above will work, FIGHT! Disable the shooter. Get mad and defend yourself! What do you have to lose? If you have a gun, use it! If you don’t know how, get trained! Just in the last few days I have heard numerous sheriffs and police chiefs advising citizens to arm themselves. Get trained by some qualified trainer.
If you come upon the shooter, use improvised weapons. Fire Extinguishers, chairs, lamps, broken glass from a picture frame, or mirror, heavy vase, broken furniture, scissors or a heavy glass ash tray. Spray the bad guy with the Fire Extinguisher, and then hit him in the face. Use hot coffee, full soda cans, hair spray, anything heavy, hit him and hit him hard. Your life depends on it.
In a crowded theater, church or mall, get away from the center of the hallway. Get next to the wall. Do NOT get caught in the rushing mob of terrified people; you could get trampled. (You will be able to use the wall for support if you get shoved or knocked down.) Walls have windows and doors. You might find them as an escape route. Stores often have “back doors” to escape through. Grab hold of small children and carry them. If they are too big to carry, grab your child’s belt rather than holding onto their arm. Grab each of your family by the belt and hold on, for dear life. Stay alive; have a plan!
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