20Nov05

Confrontation handled well, from one of our students:

"In Atlanta on Thursday, I stopped to fill my car with gas. I had just begun to dispense fuel into the tank when, as is my habit, I glanced behind and noticed a man approaching rapidly. I was also talking, via a Blue tooth, o n my cell phone at the same time. I believe that is why I was selected for victimization. I was perceived as distracted and self-consumed.

This mugging suspect was smart. He had waited until I was boxed in by my car, the gas pump, and the fuel hose. He approached with his hands in his coat pockets. He said, 'Give me some money,' soft enough so as n ot to attract attention.

I immediately found my Kel-Tec 380 in my right, front pants pocket. I replied, "Sorry; can't help you, Bud," as I establis hed solid eye contact. The guy was experienced and smart. He immediately turned to the side and said,

'It's cool. Be cool.' Without another word, he tuned the rest of the way around and hurriedly exited.

When I lost sight of him, I finished fueling, got in my car, and left. =9D

Comment: Situational awareness and a solid, protective posture and demeanor , once again, prevented a violent crime. Most fights are over before they start. Some violent criminals are crazy, but most aren't. They're just opportunists looking for an easy mark. Perpetual alertness, aggressive des election and assertive disengagement work nearly every time, but these critical skil ls must be constantly practiced and rehearsed, just as our gun skills are.

Good show, my friend!

/John

20Nov05

Active Shooter in Tacoma, WA Mall, from a friend at the scene:

"Today's shooting involved a twenty-year-old, Hispanic male, high on crystal meth. It was an attempted suicide-by-cop. However, during the ent ire incident, no police bullets were ever fired at the suspect. The suspect wa s armed with a CZ 9mm pistol, loaded with Remington Golden Saber ammunition. He also had a Kalashnikov clone (7.62X39, hardball ammunition) secreted in a guitar case.

He started by firing his pistol randomly down a mall corridor. He was jumped from behind by an unarmed mall patron who attempted to disarm him. In the ensuing struggle, the patron was hit four times in the torso before the suspect's badly-rusted and poorly maintained CZ experienced a stoppa ge which precluded additional shooting by the suspect. The heroic patron was the on ly person seriously injured during the incident. All other injuries were mino r, mostly caused by ricochets and people being trampled during the panicked ex it of mall shoppers.

With his pistol non-operational an apparently not knowing how to fix it, th e suspect abandoned it and reverted to his AK, again firing randomly. Our ' Active-Shooter' training really paid off! First officers to arrive did not hesitate. They organized into the diamond formation and entered the mall building straightaway, moving toward the sound of gunfire. Some officers w ere armed with Ruger Mini-14s. Upon seeing advancing officers, then suspect ran into

a mall store and took three hostages. Officers were successful in containi ng the suspect and clearing the rest of the mall.

Negotiations began. At one point, the suspect fell asleep! He eventually gave up and released all hostages. He is currently in custody, uninjured. No shots were fired by police."

Comment: As my friend indicated, "Active Shooter" training i s critical for all departments, big and small. It surely worked here. The suspect was rapidly contained, and damage was minimized. SWAT teams were eventually involved, but the guys who heroically organized themselves and entered the building first were plain-vanilla patrolmen. They deserve a lot of credit. Good sh ow, guys!

/John