In the 1990 Jacksonville (FL) GMAC office mass shooting, the shooter walked through the front entrance firing; he didn’t say a word. Fast forward to 2019 in Aurora (IL), where an employee at a termination hearing jumped up and began shooting at everyone in the room. This was a classic workplace violence incident. In these two cases, and many others, victims were “sucker-punched;” they never saw it coming.
If the shooting starts in front of you, cover and concealment doesn’t work because the shooter is in your midst. You may be making eye contact. Hiding at this point is using hope as a tactic. Diving under your desk in front of the attacker is akin to an ostrich burying his head in the sand.
So…what’s an option?
Get Out is likely your best option because the shooter already sees you. In the GMAC shooting, wounded and unwounded survivors fast-crawled through a rear door. Victims that hid under desks, in full view of the shooter, were finished off. The important part is low-crawling out the door and away from the threat area.
You have a big problem if the shooter is blocking the only exit. Fighting- whether or not you’re armed – is dangerous, but may be a last ditch option in a small conference room or office with one door.
Key Takeaway: It’s a horror story when a shooter corners you; it’s too late to hide. Diving to the floor and crawling for your life, or fighting when you can’t get out, may work.
What are your comments?
