And what if it really was the good guy, shooting past the innocents at the actual killer? When bullets are flying what are the possibilities of seeing every detail?
What if suddenly you are face to face with any man with a gun? Shoot or analyze? While he's doing the same? Raise your gun or not? While he's doing the same?
If you know there are bad guys there, but only heard their shots, how do you determine armed BG's from armed GG's?
That was '86.
I think Fargo has covered it here. The situation in Kenya is vastly different then say, what happened in Sandy Hook with a lone crazed gunman. It would be far easier for me to say that I would actively engage in a situation with a lone gunman if the opportunity presented itself than to go on the offensive (running toward the gunfire) against numerous assaliants trained and armed as a group intent on carrying out a military style raid.This mall attack is completely different from really any active shooter incident in the U.S. to date and parallels closest to Beslan from what I can see. Current active shooter protocols are going to be pretty much useless in an engagement with basically a couple of fire teams. Rushing guys into something like this on an as arrive piecemeal basis is simply going to allow the aggressors to mop them with relative ease.
Realistically, U.S. law enforcement in general is going to really struggle to win a fight like this; look at the Miami shootout in 86. A marine and a ranger went through triple our quadruple their number of FBI agents in a non-ambush scenario. It is going to take ALOT of time/resources for domestic LE to respond effectively to something like this.
As has been pointed out repeatedly above, CCW/off duty officer engagement with lone active shooters generally has a fair bit of success. In the face of something like this, you are almost certainly going to die quickly. Not that that means I would not engage or would discourage others from engaging. I'd much rather die fighting than shot in the back. I also have to be realistic about what it going to happen to me.
Realistically, I would probably end up dying trying to fight some sort of rearguard action to get my family out. Against folks with AK's and armor, it is unlikely I will kill any of them.
Best,
Joe
+1Yes, it was 86 and a lot has been learned/changed since then, particularly patrol rifles. That said, how many hours year does the average police officer spend practicing operating as a fire team? What are the odds that those who show up will be anyone he has even practiced with before.
I'm in no way slighting the police or their courage, but they are generally NOT trained to act as a military unit.
From a strategic standpoint, what we are talking about here is not really criminal acts with criminal goals. We are talking about a small military engagement and as I said before, it is going to take A LOT of time/resources for domestic law enforcement to be able to project enough force to win that battle against a trained and dedicated military force.
That is not a slight on the cops, they are neither trained nor equipped to fight a true military engagement. The closest they come is SWAT/ERT and how long does it take for a callout to fully assemble?
Best,
Joe
+1
I'm sure our officers have better judgement than to go head to head with a trained and well armed force. I'm sure SWAT has rehearsed for these type of scenarios and have formulated a plan of action involving other officers to compliment their actions. Also all of the federal Leo's that would be popping out of the woodwork and take over most likely? And I its deemed to be a paramilitary force then the national guard should be called in and leave no option off the table.
Did anybody else notice the apparent civilians with pistols?
I have before. I could not live with myself if someone died from my inaction.