School shootings

Well, we had another school shooting last week and I doubt if anyone is surprised anymore. Here are some facts to ponder:

• According to published reports, the first police officer was on scene in 29 seconds, and there were 10 officers within 90 seconds
• 48 rounds of 9MM and 6 shotguns rounds were fired killing 5 people plus the gunman - all in about 2 minutes
  
• The shooter was reported to have had mental problems and had discontinued taking anti-depressants because they made him feel like a zombie

So what can we learn from this? First of all, it sounds like the gunman was aware the police were on the way and ended his own life before they arrived. This response by law enforcement was incredibly quick and yet still failed to save 5 lives (although it may have been much worse with a slower response time).

I believe that the only thing that could have saved any of these students was that if some of them had been armed and trained in what to do in that situation. There has been talk of allowing teachers to carry concealed weapons and I generally agree with that if they have the proper mindset and training.

There is a giant risk to a civilian engaging the shooter in this situation. We are trained in law enforcement to immediately find the shooter and stop the threat - and even step over wounded students if need be. The adrenaline will be flowing and the problem is one of target identification - who is the good guy and who is the bad guy? If you are the civilian is this situation you will probably be so focused on the shooter that you may not see the police or hear their commands.

Don't get my wrong, I'm not saying to do nothing. I'm just cautioning you to be fully aware of your surroundings and to be looking for law enforcement to arrive. We are trained to enter with at least 4 people in a diamond or stack formation and this should be pretty obvious. I hope there comes a day when we read a report where the shooter is the only one killed or injured.

Pre-attack indicators

The common misconception about violent attacks is that it is the scruffy dude in the ski mask who jumps out from behind the bushes. In the real world you are much more likely to be “interviewed”. This means that the attacker will approach you and engage in an innocuous conversation in an attempt to size you up.

Here is where your sixth sense comes in to play and you need to be on full alert whenever a stranger engages you. If someone is planning on an attack, it is very difficult for them not to exhibit some sort of non-verbal “leakage”. Here are some clues to look for:

Scanning – while talking to you they are checking out the surrounding area to see if it is safe for them to continue

Clenching – either their hands or jaws will clench and unclench and they may also rock back and forth from one foot to the other

Target glance – checking to see if you might be armed or telegraphing where they will strike

Fighting stance – taking a boxing style stance. This may be accompanied by removing of a hat or glasses

Hesitation in responses – they are planning the attack and unable to multitask

If you spot any of these signs you need to exit the situation immediately and/or be prepared defend yourself.

Tactical Flashlights

So why do we need a flashlight if we are carrying concealed? First of all, the FBI reports that more than 80% of all officer involved shootings happen in low light and civilian shootings are probably not much different. The reasons for carrying a flashlight for the typical CPL holder are to locate and identify threats, to aid in movement, and to disorient attackers.

There are many different flashlights available and I’ll review some of my favorites in future posts. My criteria for selection is that they be durable, fairly small, have good battery life and powerful. I prefer a minimum of 60 lumens but would really rather have 100 lumens. The units with a strobe mode are great for disorienting subjects.

There are many weapons mounted lights available but I prefer a separate flashlight. One reason is that there are many times I want to use a light but don’t really want to point my gun at what I want to see. The second reason is that under extreme pressure you may get your switches and triggers mixed up. We call this in the firearms training world “a bad thing”.

If you do carry a flashlight you will need to practice the various flashlight/gun techniques and become proficient at shooting one handed.

Gun Cleaning

I was brought up cleaning guns with Hoppe’s Number Nine. Although I learned to enjoy the smell, I never learned to like the solvent feel and the mess I generally made. For about the past 10 years I have been using water based solvents and primarily a common cleaner called Simple Green.

My ritual for cleaning my Glocks is to field strip, spray the parts with Simple Green, scrub with a toothbrush and use the nylon borebrush to the clean the barrel. Rinse off with very hot water and blow everything off with compressed air. The good news is that my hands are just as clean as my gun and since I do everything in the laundry tub there is no mess to clean up. If a bore, bolt or piston is particularly cruddy, I’ll soak it in Slip 2000’s 725 cleaner/degreaser for a couple of hours and then wash it off.

Using a few drops of Militec or Weaponshield on a Q-Tip, apply a thin layer wherever there is friction and you’ll be good to go. Total elapsed time for a Glock is about 10 minutes.