The whole CO theater shooting
In every post on FB or here I see about the theater shooting, I'm seeing a lot of opinions expressed. In all of those, they start with "I think" and then follow up with "guns in the hands of innocent victims would've made things worse." They base this opinion on, I believe, a long life of watching the news, movies, and TV. I suspect none of those individuals has ever spent much time shooting a gun, learning about defensive tactics of any sort, or EVER doing a force on force type class or scenario with either airsoft guns or simunitions. Now while these individuals are likely educated and intelligent, they have zero experience or related learning. Them offering opinions on this is like me offering opinions to the surgeon on how best to operate on my wife's small intestine. (Something that you'll note I didn't do. Duh.)
So, for the record, some of my background, before I continue. (Yes, if you want to link this elsewhere, feel free.)
Firearms owner since 1993.
Concealed carry licensed since 2003.
NRA pistol instructor.
NRA range safety officer.
Attended multiple classes on firearms, on average 10 hours/year since 2003.
Fired approx 120,000 rounds downrange in training, practice, and competition.
Shelf of trophies from some of the aforementioned competitions.
Trained in civilian use of force issues in multiple classes.
Former lead firearms instructor for a local range.
Police Officer since 2009.
Several scenario based training classes and modules completed (airsoft and sims).
Oh yes, and lest I forget, I've trained armed and unarmed martial arts fairly extensively as well, at one point holding instructor ratings in Muay Thai, Kali, and boxing. I've fought competitively. (And gotten my ass kicked, don't get your panties in a bunch over that. But I know what a fight looks like from both the real world and competitive sides of the fence.)
I say with no ego whatsoever that I'm the best shooter in my department, and one of the better fighters.
With that out of the way, let me tell you my educated and informed opinion about the theater shooting...
Let's state it hypothetically. Let's assume that I was there in the audience. Heck, let's stack the deck and say I was there with two of my colleagues, hand picked by me to be the best shooters and most deadly guys I could drag in. Let's also state that we're all carrying pistols with multiple reloads on our belts. Let's also say that we were all in optimal spots in the theater to return fire.
I will tell you with a certainty that people still would've died. In a chaotic environment, shit happens. There's a video of a guy coming through the front door of a police station with a shotgun who opens fire. He still manages to kill or wound several officers before he is brought down. The shock/surprise factor is very difficult to overcome, even for trained police officers. If you've seen that video, you'll note that it takes a long ass time for return fire to happen. It is simply an unavoidable facet of human behavior.
With that out of the way, once we started shooting back, we wouldn't have stopped. If you've ever done any sims work, you'll know that shooting around other moving people is tricky, but not a circus stunt. Occasionally "friendly fire" happens, but I didn't see it happen near as much as others opine. You can shoot, move, shoot, move, yell, shoot, move, etc. Funny how people can do that pretty well most times. I've seen guys who had nowhere near as much training as me accomplish that very same thing, so don't think it is something special.
But wait, what about the gas????
I've seen people OCed who could still function. I note that being gassed doesn't seem to take the starch out of people who are motivated near as much as it does just some random asshole. If people are shooting at you, I bet you'll ignore the discomfort while you're saving your life or the lives of your family members.
Hold it, but he's wearing kevlar!!!!
Yep, true. And even if you're wearing that, soaking up multiple hits from even a wimpy handgun is going to be disconcerting and throw you off of your plan. Headshots are nice but not critical. Hits to the extremities, pelvis, etc., will all have some effect and reduce or impair combat efficacy of the assailant. I don't know anybody who can take a pelvis or femoral hit and continue at 100%. Some of those will be mobility impairing, others will be life threatening.
Also note that most assailants like our theater shooter tend to stop as soon as they meet determined resistance. Not a guarantee, but one can hope. Even if he doesn't stop, imagine one, two, or three people shooting him until he stops. (Which may be dead. So be it.)
So, here's my take. Even with trained shooters in the audience, people die. It is unavoidable. But it is entirely possible that less people would've died. And here's the thing, life is not about certainties. It simply doesn't exist. Anybody reading this could die of old age at 90 or they could croak tomorrow of a brain anurism. The real question revolves around personal responsibility. Do you want to have the option of trying to defend yourself? Or would you rather the government tell you that you can't? For my money, I'll take the first option, folks. I've not shot at anybody, but I have drawn my gun preemptively to thwart violence, both as a police officer and as a regular guy on the street. I'm very glad I had that gun in both situations. I'd like for you to have that same option yourself. You may not choose to exert that option, and that is your choice. But even if you don't want to make that choice, don't try to exert your personal bias onto others.
So, for the record, some of my background, before I continue. (Yes, if you want to link this elsewhere, feel free.)
Firearms owner since 1993.
Concealed carry licensed since 2003.
NRA pistol instructor.
NRA range safety officer.
Attended multiple classes on firearms, on average 10 hours/year since 2003.
Fired approx 120,000 rounds downrange in training, practice, and competition.
Shelf of trophies from some of the aforementioned competitions.
Trained in civilian use of force issues in multiple classes.
Former lead firearms instructor for a local range.
Police Officer since 2009.
Several scenario based training classes and modules completed (airsoft and sims).
Oh yes, and lest I forget, I've trained armed and unarmed martial arts fairly extensively as well, at one point holding instructor ratings in Muay Thai, Kali, and boxing. I've fought competitively. (And gotten my ass kicked, don't get your panties in a bunch over that. But I know what a fight looks like from both the real world and competitive sides of the fence.)
I say with no ego whatsoever that I'm the best shooter in my department, and one of the better fighters.
With that out of the way, let me tell you my educated and informed opinion about the theater shooting...
Let's state it hypothetically. Let's assume that I was there in the audience. Heck, let's stack the deck and say I was there with two of my colleagues, hand picked by me to be the best shooters and most deadly guys I could drag in. Let's also state that we're all carrying pistols with multiple reloads on our belts. Let's also say that we were all in optimal spots in the theater to return fire.
I will tell you with a certainty that people still would've died. In a chaotic environment, shit happens. There's a video of a guy coming through the front door of a police station with a shotgun who opens fire. He still manages to kill or wound several officers before he is brought down. The shock/surprise factor is very difficult to overcome, even for trained police officers. If you've seen that video, you'll note that it takes a long ass time for return fire to happen. It is simply an unavoidable facet of human behavior.
With that out of the way, once we started shooting back, we wouldn't have stopped. If you've ever done any sims work, you'll know that shooting around other moving people is tricky, but not a circus stunt. Occasionally "friendly fire" happens, but I didn't see it happen near as much as others opine. You can shoot, move, shoot, move, yell, shoot, move, etc. Funny how people can do that pretty well most times. I've seen guys who had nowhere near as much training as me accomplish that very same thing, so don't think it is something special.
But wait, what about the gas????
I've seen people OCed who could still function. I note that being gassed doesn't seem to take the starch out of people who are motivated near as much as it does just some random asshole. If people are shooting at you, I bet you'll ignore the discomfort while you're saving your life or the lives of your family members.
Hold it, but he's wearing kevlar!!!!
Yep, true. And even if you're wearing that, soaking up multiple hits from even a wimpy handgun is going to be disconcerting and throw you off of your plan. Headshots are nice but not critical. Hits to the extremities, pelvis, etc., will all have some effect and reduce or impair combat efficacy of the assailant. I don't know anybody who can take a pelvis or femoral hit and continue at 100%. Some of those will be mobility impairing, others will be life threatening.
Also note that most assailants like our theater shooter tend to stop as soon as they meet determined resistance. Not a guarantee, but one can hope. Even if he doesn't stop, imagine one, two, or three people shooting him until he stops. (Which may be dead. So be it.)
So, here's my take. Even with trained shooters in the audience, people die. It is unavoidable. But it is entirely possible that less people would've died. And here's the thing, life is not about certainties. It simply doesn't exist. Anybody reading this could die of old age at 90 or they could croak tomorrow of a brain anurism. The real question revolves around personal responsibility. Do you want to have the option of trying to defend yourself? Or would you rather the government tell you that you can't? For my money, I'll take the first option, folks. I've not shot at anybody, but I have drawn my gun preemptively to thwart violence, both as a police officer and as a regular guy on the street. I'm very glad I had that gun in both situations. I'd like for you to have that same option yourself. You may not choose to exert that option, and that is your choice. But even if you don't want to make that choice, don't try to exert your personal bias onto others.