Aurora, CO "Dark Knight Rises" shooting - 14 dead, 50+ wounded 7/20/12

[NETim]

I think the above is an exceedingly important mindset to have. You need to expect it. (Whatever low-likelihood but high-consequence event is under discussion.) Don't think about what to do if it happens. Think about what to do when it happens - know it is coming and look for it. That is a subtle but important difference, and one that can lead to us recognizing a developing problem sooner and hopefully allowing us less hesitation in acting on what we see.

And we're right back to Cooper's Color Code... the state of preparedness. The mindset. The awareness.

The edge.

[jlw]

Sad day. Prayers for all the families. This link was posted on lawofficer.com. It's the radio traffic from this incident. It sounds like utter chaos.

Amazing dispatchers, and "Lincoln 25" was cool and in charge.

[Corlissimo]

This may be a thread of its own, but a question : normally being close to the exit seems like a good idea, but in this case people closest to the door were probably the first victims. I'm sure there's more than one door, but still- where do you think the best place to be is in a situation like this one?

At the top level, towards the corners if at all possible, just like any restaurant I go to. I want to see as much of the place as I can and I don't want people behind me if at all possible. To me, this vantage point gives me a good amount of time (relatively speaking) to figure out a plan of action.

Of course, the top, back area of the theater is not the best place to be in the event of a fire, which is statistically more likely to occur. then again, in light of this event maybe the odds are swinging over to the active shooter side of the spectrum.

[JodyH]

I harbor no illusions as to what my chances of successfully engaging and stopping this guy with a handgun would have been.
There is freedom in knowing you're screwed going into a situation, use that to your advantage and step into the void.

[NETim]

I harbor no illusions as to what my chances of successfully engaging and stopping this guy with a handgun would have been.
There is freedom in knowing you're screwed going into a situation, use that to your advantage and step into the void.

Still better than a box of Gummi Bears.

[JHC]

I think the above is an exceedingly important mindset to have. You need to expect it. (Whatever low-likelihood but high-consequence event is under discussion.) Don't think about what to do if it happens. Think about what to do when it happens - know it is coming and look for it. That is a subtle but important difference, and one that can lead to us recognizing a developing problem sooner and hopefully allowing us less hesitation in acting on what we see.



True enough, especially on paper, but given all the reported pandemonium, I wouldn't at all be surprised to find some opportunity in the darkness, irregular lighting, and general chaos for a knife-armed person to flank or attack from the rear and get a knife in and grapple started before the mass murderer even had a chance to react.

This last comment is not directed at any particular person, or even this group really: when events like this occur - that is, one where the problem may be particularly difficult to solve, many people, both inside and outside the defensive training community, commonly react by saying that resistance is probably futile or success is unlikely. I think that's the wrong way to think, particularly for us. In post-event discussions like this one, I personally believe very strongly that we should be trying to find or invent the solutions, however narrow the opportunity may be to apply them. There is nothing wrong with escaping this situation if you aren't duty-bound to deal with it. Nothing at all. But if one is going to overcome an attacker like this one, or worse, attackers, we are going to need to make a hasty plan, recognize opportunity, and at that moment act with complete and total precision and aggression.

Easy for me to say, sitting here behind the computer, but that is what I believe.

Absolutely correct A-Z and DocGKR's note you quoted as well. There have been incidents including a school shooting in OR years ago where unarmed non-victims won the day without firearms. In the OR case it was a HS athlete - a wrestler I think (figures) that took a student shooter to the floor and disarmed him of a rifle.

[Spr1]

Absolutely correct A-Z and DocGKR's note you quoted as well. There have been incidents including a school shooting in OR years ago where unarmed non-victims won the day without firearms. In the OR case it was a HS athlete - a wrestler I think (figures) that took a student shooter to the floor and disarmed him of a rifle.

And that HS kid was familiar with firearms and reloading pauses and knew when to attack.

[ToddG]

Took the Brady Bunch less than 18 hours to put together a mass email asking people to sign this electronic petition:

I Demand Congress Stop Arming Dangerous People

The horrendous shooting in Aurora, CO is yet another tragic reminder that we have a national problem of easy availability of guns in this country.

Sign our petition to demand Congress address this problem:

I believe that these people should not be able to buy, own, or carry a gun anywhere in our nation:

• Convicted felons
• Convicted domestic abusers
• Terrorists
• People found to be dangerously mentally ill

Candidates for Congress, if you don't sign this Statement of Principle, I won't vote for you.

Setting aside the undefined "terrorists," aren't the rest already prohibited persons?

[YVK]

I harbor no illusions as to what my chances of successfully engaging and stopping this guy with a handgun would have been.
There is freedom in knowing you're screwed going into a situation, use that to your advantage and step into the void.

Great post, Jody. I am aware of only one other case of a CCW holder engaging an armor-wearing killer armed with an AK. That CCW holder saved some lives, but lost his own.

On account of taking action in tight crowded areas, has anybody ever navigated through/with a panicked mass of people? I had to do it twice in my life, once evacuating from a plane [nothing major], and once from an arena that lost electric power. Both weren't dramatic as far as actual seriousness of situation were concerned, but both were good reality checks.

[SteveK]

They are sir. This nutjob is an interesting case though. Most mass murderers/shooters have an exit plan. That is they don't plan to survive the incident. Most plan to commit suicide when they are cornered or do the death by cop thing. This cat was armored up and allowed himself to be arrested. That's a new kind of messed up.