[Joshua M. Smith]

You're walking downtown to the post office, or wherever. An ITV (Iraqi Terrorist Vehicle, aka, Volkswagen Bus) comes screaming down the street, stopping in front of a multi-story apartment building less than a block away from you.

A man in his early 20's gets out. You see he's strapped with explosives and has what looks like a command switch (not a deadman's switch, just a simple button) in one hand that will detonate the symtex worn as a "vest" on his chest. Obviously a suicide bomber. He heads away from you for the courthouse/sheriff's dept buildings, merrily tossing hand grenades now and again.

What do you do?

(I posted this a long time ago on several different forums. It seems more feasable now so I'm reposting.)

Josh <><

 

[Scott]

Approximate distance to target?

Is he walking or running away from me?

Is there a crowd on the street that I would have to shoot in to?

Get on 911 and tell them the Court House/Sheriff's dept is about to be attacked. Although if the BG is tossing grenades they likely know already.

If distance is such that I can shoot him I would. If not I would try to close and shoot. That is what brought up the walking running question. I'm not too fast, but if he is walking I could close on him.

My distance concern is being able to hit the BG versus other people.

-Scott-

 

[Gelicious]

I guess it depends on if you want to be a Hero, or a Martyr, or a Survivor? You could shoot the person, but COM would probubly be out of the question if he is straped with explosives. So a head shot would most likley be your best bet but, who is to say he isnt going to see you and blow it anyway, or make it in the building before you can get a clear head shot and blow the bomb anyway.

Its unfortunite that people think they will get into heaven by killing themselves and others with a bomb like that. But it does happen. I cant say what I would do because it all depends on the situation and such but calling 911 and clearing others from around that building might be the best bet.

Most bombers go into a building and blow it within about a 1 minute time frame so running into the building and trying to stop him wouldnt be the best idea, but thats just my opinion.

 

[Joshua M. Smith]

Approximate distance to target?

Oops! 15-20yds. I've got my home town in mind here; feel free to substitute your own.

Is he walking or running away from me?

Walking purposefully away.

Is there a crowd on the street that I would have to shoot in to?

Just your average small town foot traffic. Gunshots would likely alert the police btw, if modeling after my town.

Get on 911 and tell them the Court House/Sheriff's dept is about to be attacked. Although if the BG is tossing grenades they likely know already.

If distance is such that I can shoot him I would. If not I would try to close and shoot. That is what brought up the walking running question. I'm not too fast, but if he is walking I could close on him.

My distance concern is being able to hit the BG versus other people.

-Scott-

Josh <><

 

[Janq]

If you have enough time and proximity to note all of those specific facts including the type of button/switch used then likely you're already dead, if not soon to be.
But if by chance if I had a moment to react I'd turn and shield my wife & daughter and/or if alone take immediate hard cover in order to survive and assist the soon to be gravely injured.
Also if time allowed I'd pull my shirt/jacket up over my head to shield against concussive blast of small metals & glass from destroying my face and blinding my eyes.

http://www.nationalhomelandsecurityknowledgebase.com/Research/International_Articles/Bomb_Basics.html
http://www.bt.usf.edu/files/ATF Car Bomb Card.jpg

FOR ILLUSTRAVITE PURPOSES ONLY. This shows the blast radii with respect to the average city block...

Blue/Red rings are drawn to scale based on the ATF chart above.
Large red ring depicts 600ft blast radius.
Large purple ring represents a 1/4mile distance from blast.

- Janq

 

[Rob72]

COM shots would be just fine, anything sensitive enough to detonate on contact would have already done it. However. He's likely going to clinch his fist- at 15-20 yards, you'll be a smear on the wall behind you. The bright side is that if you have REALLY GOOD COVER(like a concrete barricade in the parking lot and a solid concrete wall to shield you in addition to that), he detonates in the street, with much less trauma to a greater number of people.

Basically only two choices:
1) run for cover and call 911.
2)Mag dump and duck.

 

[Tubby45]

Headshot only, IMO. We are trained in cop school to headshoot a suicide bomber. Something like that needs to be stopped PRONTO. CNS hit and nothing else. Aim for the teeth if face 2 face or in this case since going away from me, I would aim at a point centered between the ears. That is where I am trained to shoot. COM hits could set off the bomb.

I'd try to seek reasonable cover in case of detonation but providing me with a clear shot and the least possible risk of IBSs from a missed shot.

 

[madmike]

You cannot look at a switch in someones fist and tell if it is a "deadman's" switch or not. Just being a "simple button switch" will not tell you how it has been wired. There's just too many types of simple switches out there.

From what I do know, suicide bombers generally are not rigged with suicide switches, though. (How odd that sounds!) Most likely reason would be the potential for premature detonation.

Hitting the type of explosive most often used would not set the package off. But the chance hitting of a detonator would be another story.

Holding a switch in one hand, tossing hand grenades with the other? I'm sorry, but this brings the scenario too much into the realm of fantasy for me.

mm

 

[dpesec]

Headshot or zipper. But keep in mind that just because you don't see a second one, there normally is. The bomb could also be triggered via cell-phone.

 

[tanksoldier]

If he's tossing grenades, take any shot you can get. The chance of YOU hitting a bystander is much lower, and acceptable collateral damage in any case, compared to the number of people he could get with one grenade.

 

[Lawrence Keeney]

Unless I can shoot him in the head, I grab my kids and run like hell for a block wall far building, hill to hide behind, or some other incredibly solid cover.

I don't carry a badge, sad as it is to say, the only people Im responsible for are my family and myself.

 

[Redneck Repairs]

personaly i would look for cover from the pressure wave , get behind that , begin making noise shouting ect.. if he " froze " for a bit i would try for a headshot . but the basics are anything to derail him from his concentration after i see to cover for me and mine

 

[BenGoodLuck]

An ITV (Iraqi Terrorist Vehicle, aka, Volkswagen Bus) comes screaming down the street...

Most suicide bombers are not looking to draw attention to themselves. The screaming tires and visible explosives are not realistic. Suicide bombers in Israel are notorious for blending in with the crowd of innocents they plan to murder.

And a head shot is the only way to neutralize a suicide bomber.

 

[rocky]

This senario sounds too hollywierd to me. Typically , we have seen suicide bombers try to discretely enter their target area, then detonate.

 

[PatrioticRick]

If you see him take cover, 15-20 yards too close when he goes boom, but on the other hand, if no cover, your screwed anyway, empty gun into head.

 

[Joshua M. Smith]

No disrespect intended; most of you are dancing around the point I'm trying to make, and taking the bait.

True, bombers would not want to be noticed.

Why might this one be creating such a disturbance with grenades and visible explosives?

Josh <><

 

[tanksoldier]

It's likely he's causing a diversion, drawing attention away from the "real" bomber and target. However, that's somebody else's problem. My problem is the lethal threat I'm directly confronted with.

Incidentally, I take the opposite view of those who would only worry about them and theirs. If you weren't there to protect your family, you'd hope somebody else would act to defend them. The whole point of CC is that cop and Soldiers aren't always handy. Sometimes the private citizen has to step up.

 

[Joshua M. Smith]

I'm kinda' worried about the ITV parked in front of the apartment complex myself

Josh <><

 

[Miggy]

Wwjbd?

 

[Joshua M. Smith]

I don't understand what that means...?

Thanks,

Josh <><