Recently there have been a number of shootings around the country where an individual has just indiscriminately opened fired on a group of people, randomly shooting and killing. The most recent, reported over the weekend, was at a Church in
Colorado Springs,
CO.
What was different about this situation was how it ended. It is reported that Jeanne Assam a church member who had a pistol and a concealed weapons permit, (CCW), heard the shots, she ran to the sound of the gun fire and stopped the attack by shooting and killing the attacker. Most likely she saved dozens of lives.
In spite of the tragedy of lives lost and the after action trauma this woman will most likely face, there is some small good that can come out of this awful situation and that is this; because of this brave woman’s example we have an opportunity to Re-train at least some of the American population about How to react in a situation like this and how NOT to simply be Victims.
I have spent much of the last 27 years as a Professional Security Consultant, Bodyguard, Firearms Instructor and served a brief stint in law enforcement. Much of my training came from
Israel where a totally different mind set is prevalent. There, in the face of an attack you are trained to DO SOMETHING.
Often
Anything is better then nothing.
Almost all of the recent attacks have been perpetrated by a single gunman. And, while the thought of attacking a shooter while unarmed is daunting, it may be the only road to survival.
I won’t pretend that I understand what is going on in the mind of these sick people. It is unfathomable to me to take innocent lives for absolutely no reason other than some sort of self-hatred. But, under extreme stress most people, including these violent individuals, experience “tunnel vision” which limits their focus down to what is happening immediately in front of them and reduces their peripheral vision. You can use this to your advantage by attacking the shooter at an angle or from the back or side. But you HAVE to attack. Throw things, run and tackle the shooter and keep on fighting.
But what happens if I get shot? There have been hundreds, even thousands of police related shootings where the bad guy was hit multiple times and didn’t immediately stop, go down or die. Often these people have survived an incredible number of gun shot wounds from trained professionals and have later walked into court unassisted. By attacking a shooter you may very well be severely wounded, possibly even critically and you might die later. But unless you are hit in one of a very few small, vital, and instantly disabling places on your body (brain, heart), you will be able to continue to fight for 30 seconds to a minute or more. In that amount of time you can quite possibly stop the attack.
What is the alternative? Run and be shot in the back or cower and be executed? By all means, if you have a second to take hard cover you may do so in order to quickly assess the situation, but Then you have to ACT FAST. To be in motion is to stay in motion. So it is better to be moving and attack.
In reality it is very hard for an untrained gunman to hit a moving target, especially one coming toward him with projected force. It’s almost impossible to consistently hit multiple targets that are swarming a shooter (we have demonstrated this time and time again in training). So IF we could change the mind set of Americans, so that they decide that they will Not allow themselves to be Victims, but rather will Fight in a situation like this, you might find that you are not alone in your response. It is very unlikely that he could stop all of you.
There is the possibility to attack with greater safety when a shooter has to reload, or when there is a jam or malfunction. But in reality you can not wait for these opportunities if you want to live and protect the lives of others. You must act and change the balance of control.
When attacking if possible throw objects at the attacker which can distract them and upset their perception of control and balance. This may fluster them thus slowing down the momentum of the attack and potentially saving lives. Again the point is DO SOMETHING.
Note: This morning, AFTER I wrote the above statements, it was revealed today that another UN-ARMED worshiper at the church in
Colorado, named Larry Bourbannais, also confronted the attacker. First he ran to where he heard the gunshots coming from, he took quick cover to assess the situation, and then ran toward the shooter yelling “You Coward!!” – he locked eyes with the shooter and was shot at multiple times, being hit only with bullet fragments in the arm. There is no doubt in my mind that this guy has “immense courage”, and he is also a Vietnam Vet. But most telling is the fact that he had already made a DECISION of what he would do if ever in this type of situation. He is reported as saying “ I promised myself after Columbine, and told my four daughters, that if something like that ever happened and I was there, I would go after the shooter, because you want to protect people” The 59 year old Bourbannis told TODAY co-host Meredith Vieira.
That is when you have to attack without a weapon. However, it is far better to respond to a shooting by shooting. A well placed bullet can travel the distance between you and the attacker in a fraction of a second. Thankfully the number of licensed concealed weapons permits held by private citizens like Jeanne Assam is climbing across the country, particularly in States that recognize the advantage of armed, responsible individuals. We all need to encourage this practice and make sure that we can protect ourselves by requiring every State to change their laws to provide an opportunity for law biding citizens to protect themselves and others. This is a step in the right direction towards creating an environment of Individual Responsibility for ourselves first and then the protection of our neighbors.
Law enforcement and other officials have taught the public for last 40 years; “Don’t get involved, let the professionals handle it”. While these instructions were given with the best of intentions, this is obviously a failed approach when dealing with this type of situation and so we must re-train America’s citizens to ACT on their own to protect themselves, thus protecting others. While I greatly respect and am Thankful for law enforcement officers, paramedics, firemen and other public servants, we all must realize that to wait in a situation like this, is to risk losing your life and the lives of many others. So the time to prepare yourself is NOW. You must decide what you are going to do before it ever happens and hopefully it never will. How you train is how you will likely react.
I feel so strongly about this that I am going to give away a video that we produced in
Israel titled “The Israeli Instinctive Combat Shooting Method”. This is a step-by-step course that can provide you with handgun self-defense shooting skills. But more importantly you will see some of the mindset required to stop, focus, attack and fight for your life and the lives of others. I have 258 copies of the Israeli Instinctive Shooting DVD currently in stock – They retail for $35.00 on our website. I am going to give them away FREE, I just ask that you pay $5.97 for shipping and handling. Go to
www.AmericanGunsmith.com , click on “Shooting Technique” in the left hand column. Then click on the “Israeli Instinctive Combat Shooting Method” It will list the retail price when you put it into the shopping cart, but you will only be charged $5.97 shipping and handling (see the notes in the description). Please enter the promo code of Presoffer07(Expired) in the promo code at check-out.
(this Promo code has now expired. We still have this video for purchase at the normal $35.00 on our site.)
I am giving you this valuable video at no charge because I want you to have the information. Maybe it will save a few more lives. This offer is only good until 12-31-07 or until I run out of stock. You can also call Call 1-800-797-0867 and Leave a message with your name, complete address, credit card number for $5.97 shipping cost and a phone number. We will ship it out to you in the next 7-10 days. This is a one time limited offer subject to stock on hand.
Let’s all agree NOT to be victims and to try and protect our neighbors.
If you agree with the content of this email, feel free to pass it along to all your friends.
Best regards,
Gene Kelly
President AGI
President Executive Protection Products Inc.
www.AmericanGunsmith.com or www.EPSecurity.com
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