(Via Open Source Defense)
Obviously this isn’t news. We’ve all heard about the church shooting in White Settlement, TX by now. Knowing my audience, I’m betting many of you have seen the video. I almost wish it didn’t have audio. The guy’s daughter screaming “Daddy, NO!” is a gut wrencher. This is the price we pay for allowing the dangerously mentally ill to be at large in society.
John Correia of Active Self Protection (web site) has some good points, made early on after the shooting. Listen, learn and take them to heart.
Don’t miss the one about carrying your cell phone on your non-dominant side. This is one I figured out some years ago. I also carry a fighting knife on that side.
Also don’t miss his recommendation for a trauma kit. If you carry a gun, you need to have one. It’s probably more than you’ll want to carry on you unless you carry a bookbag or some other sort of carry bag, but at least have it in your vehicle. Go to a Stop The Bleed class. It’s free and honestly, for me it was a life changing thing. I’ve dropped quite a bit of money on trauma kits for home and vehicles. They’re not just about gunshot wounds, either. Traffic accidents, accidents with tools and so on can cause wounds that will bleed you dry. Having that kit, with a couple of tourniquets in it, might save your life, a loved one’s life or a stranger’s life. Encourage your employer to have them. They’re cheap insurance.
Lastly, train. Train with your weapons and train with the trauma kit. Run over this video in your head-what would you have done in this situation? What would you do if you’re at work and Larry the Nutjob shows up with a chip on his shoulder and a Glock?
It’s dangerous out there. It’s probably going to get worse rather than better. Be as ready as you can figure out how to be.
Wow. Got hired about 2 months ago by a home-care agency that is immediately next door to a drug and alcohol testing facility so I assume (perhaps wrongly) that a significant amount of foot traffic in front of the office consists of people who have not been making the best life decisions for themselves. I spent about eight hours over five visits to the office before I noticed the tiny "weapon free zone" sticker in the foyer of my new employer. Sigh. We take care of people who can't defend themselves effectively. I consider part of caring for them to be the ability to protect them. It says something about our society that I'm reluctant to bring up the subject with the new boss. Good on the folks at the church for having a plan in place; we should all be so prepared. Thanks for your post.
I worked at a Social Service( protective service and foster care) agency in a major northern city, probably 95% were far left urbanites. I met a couple who claimed it was morally superior to be murdered than to fight to depend yourself, they wouldn’t explain the hypocrisy of taking armed policemen with them to remove kids from dangerous situations. I finally realized after a spirited discussion with my boss that it was ok for the lower classes to perpetrate violence in their name but not “us”