What SHOULD you do?

[retsupt99]

Run quickly, hide completely, call 911...

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[SIXTO]

Make sure your shoes are tied.

[OldVet]

And for some--hold your pants up!

[Jeanlouise]

Thanks for all your replies! The point of not making sudden movements and drawing attention to yourself is a good one.

ppkheat...very interesting video and pretty much reinforces everything people here are saying. The first few people didn't have a prayer for saving themselves but the others did a good job.

I hope none of us ever have to use this information, but it's good to have some sort of plan.

[oldnfat]

I'll bet few if anyone at the mall that day would have thought they might be involved in a shooting situation. We don't know when or where trouble might arise. SA is vital to survival in these events. Lots of good advice offered already. It could happen to any of us anywhere, be ready, have a plan.

[DefConGun]

A lot of great posts. Each specific situation is going to carry with it unique variables and contingencies. Remain adaptable and assess according to your odds/chances and skill sets. Don't confuse cover for concealment and when you act, do it with full conviction.

[Jeanlouise]

What is the difference between cover and concealment? It's been mentioned several times.

[mulle46]

Cover can stop rounds, concealment just hides you from view, but won't stop rounds. Think of cover as a tank, concealment like a curtain.

[Jeanlouise]

Cover can stop rounds, concealment just hides you from view, but won't stop rounds. Think of cover as a tank, concealment like a curtain.

OK, thanks! Makes sense.

[mulle46]

You're welcome

[DefConGun]

Cover can stop rounds, concealment just hides you from view, but won't stop rounds. Think of cover as a tank, concealment like a curtain.

Perfect definition!

OK, thanks! Makes sense.

Sorry for the delay in my response.

It sounds simple but I'm sure in the heat of things, its easy to confuse the two. You wouldn't want to, for example, take refuge behind a dryer in Sears and falsely think you're safe when in reality, even smaller calibers can penetrate sheet metal. Look for solid and or complex structures that might render a caliber ineffective. The dryer in Sears can become a better alternative if its against a rock wall and the shooter is on the opposite side, etc.

[Rock and Glock]

Get down;
Get cover; and
Get gone

Get down/low/crawl/scamper because shooting high is an error of many shooters, find cover fast and keep moving away

[Jaytea]

Good discussion and timely. I would not be at a mall with my family because I don't have one. This makes me free to intervene where someone with a family must run and hide I would not retreat from a mad man with any kind of weapon. I would rather be dead than to know I could have prevented even one death. You must think the things out rationally within seconds. How many times have we heard someone must have dropped something , it was a prank, firecrackers, a mall event, part of a show, etc. Do YOU want to be the one who police identify as the SHOOTER? Few people have experienced the sound of gunfire, especially in a mall or movie theater. They only suspect something when they see blood and panic. So what does a person do that is carrying a legal concealed weapon? Protect himself and only when he is looking down the barrel of the mad mans weapon? I would be dead and no help to anyone. Well, if the citizen draws his weapon maybe the police will identify he is the mad man and shoot him! I think you see the picture evolving here. This is a dammed difficult situation. I'll bet the policeman or armed security guard is a better shot than the mad man. Actually i would be afraid they would shoot me! I would walk slowly in the direction of the where people are running away from. My gun would remain holstered. Once I get a glimpse of the mad man I immediately drop/fall down. Hell, he doesn't know in the heat of things if I was shot, fainted, or slipped and fell and cracked my head open! Now I move quickly behind cover (potted plant or Army Tank) don't care, it is cover. The mad man is not specifically looking for me to gun down whe he has hundreds in his sights. By now since I am near to the center of the action, I can easily determine if it was a firecracker, a prank, etc. Now I go into action. I don't know if he is wearing real body armor, if his gun is empty or jammed. All I know it that in order to save myself and others is to kill this man. That does not mean one or two shots then walking over to see the result. It means firing only when I have a clean shot with no possibility of collateral damage. I would not call him out, make him turn towards me, wait for him to raise his gun toward me.
This is no time to be polite. I've assessed the situation, determined deadly force is the only solution. And deadly force would proceed. If it means shooting him in the back, shooting him when he is down - the only thing that matters at this point is that I unload a full magazine into this mans body including his head. You may only have seconds to kill this man before security guards or the police are on YOU. And don't think for a minute they will think you were the good guy. You would be a dead good guy. When finished don't approach the mad man with my gun. I holster my gun and lie face down on the floor and wait for the police. This is what I would do. May not be what you would do. Maybe not what is taught in gun schools. I am only a private citizen who takes the responsibility of carrying a lawful concealed weapon very seriously.

[Frado]

GOD forbid if a shooting were ever to take place in a mall but I would hope that shooter was on third level standing next to guardrail. The second thing is, I would hope that I was standing right next to him so I can push him over guardrail!

I am not trying to make light of any situation when a madman/person opens fire on the innocent but I am TRULY sick and tired of the DIRTBAGS!