Many gun owners have pondered the mental “What if” exercise of being caught in an active shooter situation. Sadly, there have been many such shootings from which we can draw real life lessons. This article was written after the 2012 Aurora Colorado theater shooting that left 12 dead and 70 persons injured. Ed Monk of Last Resort Firearms Training pulled ten lessons from that tragedy that armed citizens should consider when preparing for the worst day of your life.
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Copy and paste this text into your text editing program like Word. Then you can type your answers directly beneath each question. The questions are in the same order as the information is presented in the article.
“10 Lessons For Armed Citizens” by Ed Monk
What factors make it difficult to recognize an active shooter incident?
How can the armed citizen be prepared for an attack in a low-light/no-light situation?
Most situations where a person might shoot in self-defense occur at 7 yards or less. Why does the author urge readers to be proficient in hitting targets at 20 to 30 yards?
Why are accurate shots at longer distances important?
What does the author suggest to help you train for making increasingly longer shots?
What have you done to train for long range shooting (15 – 50 yards)?
How do you know that a possible target is too far away?
What can you do if and active shooter is too far away for you to confidently try to engage?
“Our gear and our training are the only variable armed citizens have control over…” What gear have you chosen to carry (at this time)? Explain why.
What changes should the armed citizen make if he/she suspects that an active shooter may be wearing armed?
What have you done to increase your confidence in making accurate shots on difficult targets?
You are likely to be out-gunned by and active shooter. What three advantages might you have?
What have you done to increase those advantages?
There have to be a lot of people present before there can be a “mass shooting”. How can the crowd impede your efforts to respond to an active shooter?
What risks do you take in responding to an active shooter with a drawn gun?
How do you lessen the risk of being mistaken as an active shooter?
If another armed person is involved in an active shooter situation, how can you determine if they are a “good guy” or a second (or third) “bad guy?
What are your options if the active shooter deploys tear gas, smoke grenades, bombs or other such devices?
The theater in Aurora was a “Gun Free Zone” according to company policy. Colorado state law does not list public theaters as a prohibited place. DO NOT WRITE DOWN your choice about following policies that do not have the force of law. That is a discussion that should stay between your ears and not be expressed in any form.
What does the author mean when he says, “The goal should be to legislatively limit ‘prohibited places’”?
What have you done to change the laws in your area to be more gun friendly?
Write your own after action report of this mental exercise of dealing with an active shooter event.
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