Once again the headlines scrolled at the bottom of the screen “Student in Ohio goes on shooting spree at local school”…My stomach turned..”That coward S.O.B” I muttered under my breath. I was angry and agitated. The plague of the active shooter scenario had raised it’s ugly head once again, at the end result would be 3 dead, 2 wounded.  Needless death and suffering at the hands of a confused 17 year old kid and a .22 Caliber Pistol. Yeah, I said a .22 Caliber Pistol..never under estimate any caliber and it’s ability to inflict damage.  It should be noted that when this incident was first reported, there was only one killed and three wounded.

The ability to counter/escape an active shooter scenario should top the list of the Civilian Operator’s skill set and tool box “TO DO” list. Statistically, you or your kids stand a better chance of being in one of these situations than being robbed at gunpoint simply because of the pure randomness of the event, and as such, you have a harder time countering it due to that random “X” factor. It could be at your kids school, the mall, the gas station, etc, etc….

So how does the Civilian Operator train for such an event?  Can you really “Train” for such a random, violent event? The short answer is YES. You can apply a set of principles that will apply to any given situation, no matter the environment, IF you make those principles simple enough to work under stress, easy to recall and VIOLENT enough to counter the level of violence you are up against. Now, before we go any further on the topic of  kicking somedody’s ass, let me go back to what I mentioned earlier..the word ESCAPE. Not a very popular word in the training community..people seem to think that using the word “escape” in an active shooter or assault situation  implies cowdardice or impotence of some kind..I call  BULLSHIT!! Let me break it down this way..ESCAPE=SURVIVE, SURVIVE=ME HUGGING MY KIDS AGAIN..PRETTY SIMPLE.

OK, so now we have covered the escape part, so what if this asshole (with a gun) does not want to let you leave? Let’s say he is intent on that purpose alone..to kill you stone dead. Now we have to come to that part about getting violent..I mean “Dog Ass” mean violent. The only way a man can train for that is to put himself in an “ass puckering” situation pretty frequently..a situation that makes you uncomfortable and SCARED. A situation that MAKES you ACT, not analyze your options, not consider where you are in the OODA loop, but ACT quickly and Violently and destroy your attacker. Remember this: “A Simple Plan, well rehearsed and VIOLENTLY executed offers the best chance for success.”