Where should I sit in the class/boardroom

[Pathfinder]

Well, if the past is any guide, and it never is, but one common thread in all these shooting is A. Ignorant Shooters B. Inadequate
response.

When the first shots are fired IMMEDIATELY THROW THINGS- books, desks, chairs, salt shakers, laptops, shoes, whatever DIRECTLY at him/her.

It will discomboobulate him/her and throw him/her off stride.  These goblins are not  Special Forces Assassins or Army Rangers or even 20,000 rounds a year target shooters. They are monkeys with dangerous implements who will revert to stupidity under stress when challenged.

You can not assume the goblin will come through the door. He/she could be sitting right next to you or at the desk at the end
of the aisle.

Instead of worrying about where to sit, develop a keen interest in manner and style of dress of everyone you meet. Look for weapons printing through clothes or affectations out of context with the immediate environment. Make mental notes about deportment and demeanor. You may spot  trouble weeks before anything ever happens. 

In the Virginia Tech shooting the guy practically sent up flares he was wacko.

DO NOT CO-OPERATE. Make him/her work for his/her moment of fame.

In the Virginia Tech situation, the guy was reloading after everyone was lined up against the wall.

Why make the simple complicated? Remember THROW THINGS and DO NOT CO-OPERATE and your survival odds will skyrocket.

That is all.

Good points, although throwing things will make the bad guy focus on you. But that's ok, as noted it will divert him somewhat and maybe discombobulate the shooter a bit.

As in the Co. Springs church, yelling also works. Jeanne Assam kept yelling Surrender at the shooter as she shot and moved toward him. In a different situation, yelling will also draw attention toward you and disorient the shooter a little.

However, you must first decide - what is my mission, escape or confrontation? If you're trying to escape, drawing the shooter's attention is probably a tad counter-productive. On the other hand, if your intent is to stop the shooter, move towards him rapidly, keeping him disoriented if it is appropriate.

HOWEVER, DO NOT HAVE A SET PLAN!

The shooter is almost guaranteed to do something not in your plan. Rather, train your reactions. Assam took cover at first (training) then realized it was an active shooter scenario, and moved toward the danger with her weapon. (more training). When the shots get fired, you probably can't trust your mind to reason out everything, you have reaction (body trained) time.

[JohnJacobH]

However, you must first decide - what is my mission, escape or confrontation? If you're trying to escape, drawing the shooter's attention is probably a tad counter-productive. On the other hand, if your intent is to stop the shooter, move towards him rapidly, keeping him disoriented if it is appropriate.

Fancy way of saying Fight  or Flight. If you are trapped in a room with only one exit, flight is not really an option. Remember, the best defense is a good offense.

I guarantee if you boink him/her in the head with a 4 lb textbook or bruise his/her gun arm or hand or thump him/her in the chest, his/her lack of training will kick in and he/she will rapidlly lose all focus.

Ideally, your classmates will be inspired by your actions and will mimic you.

If 10- 20 4 lb textbooks come flying from all directions at his/her head, the dynamics of the situation will change rapidly.

You can shout if you want!

Practice in your home at the top of your lungs :

1."GUN"

2."Get Him"

3. Throw book from across the room as hard as you can at a standing manikin made from pants and shirt stuffed with newspaper. Aim for the head made from a old stuffed teddy bear with a hat on.

Rinse, repeat.

As Colonel Jeff Cooper once said: Your mind is your primary weapon.  Use it.

Best regards,

[joemerchant24]

Thanks for all the input.

Deciding what I would do is not the problem. There's only one door in and out of most of these classrooms, so the tango needs to be addressed before escape.

John Farnam (and many others) have noticed that victims who react quickly, decisively, and violently are the most likely to walk away from a deadly attack. As those three factors decrease, so do survival odds.

To again borrow from Col. Guru, I am never "unarmed." I have a brain, which is the weapon. Everything else is merely a tool of efficiency.

I had an idea where to park my kiester, but I know I'm rarely the smartest person in the room.

[ellis4538]

Joe, I guess I'm going to add a third cent to my first 2...Reading some of the other posts as well as your followup posts I see some very good info.  I hope you might re-consider your dismissing the use of a "stick".  My original post might have been misleading.  I'm not talking about a walking staff or an ordinary cane.  On a recent episode of "Personal Defense TV" (also on Outdoor Channel) Massad Ayoob from Lethal Force Institute in NH showed and demonstrated a walking stick designed specifically for use as a defensive tool.  He also recommended training like I did.  You seem like the type of individual who wants to/will get that training.  MA training specifically designed for this type of weapon is available and they can show how it adds 2+' to your reach and power to your attack.  An edged weapon can then be used to suppliment the defense if nesessary.  Check out LFI web site for phone info and e-mail but his e-mail seems to always be full!   

[ratcatcher55]

My 2 cents

The sooner you can evaluate a threat the better off you will be.
It's better to see the entrance of the building than the hallway. It's better to see the hallway than the door. 
If it sounds like gunfire, act like it is until proven otherwise.  Move to a more defenseable position.

Anything you can do to disrupt the attacker the better. Make them stop and think, disrupt their plans and begin to react to you.
Most of these idiot have a script on what they think is going to happen. When you mess it up they don't adapt to the counterattack.

Sorry but healthy people with canes or walking sticks set off my targeting radar. This idea is pretty sneeky
http://www.real-self-defense.com/umbrella.html

[Sponsor]

[joemerchant24]

I understand the value of a walking stick or defensive umbrella, but i still see them as limited in value in this scenario.

Classrooms are small and densely packed with desks. The only way to engage a BG (without a firearm) in this scenario is to close and battle at close range with an impact or edged weapon. This is why I opted to sit close to the door-side wall, a few desks in. This keeps me from being the closest person, it keeps me out of direct sight, yet keeps me close enough to engage.

There just isn't enough room for an umbrella length weapon to be brought to bear. An ASP or kubaton, maybe. The more likely choice is an edged weapon coupled with firearm control and disarming techniques.

[ratcatcher55]

Remember that you can thrust up and down the center line of an attacker with these things beside just beating the living snot out of the BG. Basic bayonet drills would be good practice.

William April teaches all you need to do is move the barrel away from pointing at you. That's the big problem of being to close with a firearm, especially a rifle. So any blocks or parries that acomplishs that gains you time to close and disarm , close and end the attack or disengage and get to cover.

The fact that you are working this in your head puts you way ahead of the game. Good luck with class. I assume the school has not heard from the former knuclehead in your blog?

[joemerchant24]

LOL... the former knucklehead....

If you mean the guy in my graduate class... he was back in class last week. No comment from anyone as to WTF is happening.

So, one week he's enough of a threat to justify moving the class to a locked room, the next week it's business as usual?

Most of us thought the prof may have overreacted, considering the events of earlier in the day (Westroads is about 40 blocks down Dodge from campus), but it's still damn weird.

Although the timing with him was odd, this topic is really borne out of a few weeks of tactical pondering. I  addressed the carry/no carry dilemma to my satisfaction on campus, let's leave it at that, and had then turned my attention to other things. Then it struck me that I was sitting in the middle of the class, up toward the front (as usual) and that likely wasn't the smartest locale... Hence, a new blog topic.

Basically, this is just another of the "what if" games I like to play. It's fun, it's good prep work, and it beats the snot out of listening to what the monotone dude discovered when examining "communication primacy among middle school teachers..."

[ratcatcher55]

If you mean the guy in my graduate class... he was back in class last week. No comment from anyone as to WTF is happening.

Yep, that's the one. Sorry for the spelling errors as I'm using a Crackberry while sitting in our weekly Monday love fest.

[joemerchant24]

No worries Ratcatcher, i just wanted to verify it was the guy from class and not the guy who threatened to get an AK and head to the Univ. of Neb. Lincoln campus and "kill some people." That was... Friday?

He, too, is a knucklehead and mentioned on my blog.