Tips To Survive A Mass Shooting
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DALLAS (CBS11 NEWS) - As the nation wrestles with yet another mass casualty shooting, this time at a nightclub in Orlando -- we must reconsider our use of the word 'unthinkable.'
Instead, security experts encourage people to think. Right now... about how to stay alive.
"You can absolutely prepare," says Clint Bruce, founder of Dallas based Trident Response Group, a security company that provides clients with a wide range of services typically built around personal security, first.
"If it feels wrong -- go! At minimum, you can apologize later for leaving the party early," says Bruce. "Trust your instincts."
Bruce, a retired U.S. Navy SEAL, started the company to teach others survival skills that they hope they will never need. But, just in case he stresses simple tactics to remember in the midst of chaos.
"Run. Hide. Fight. The situation will tell you which you need to do," says Bruce. "You always want to run when you can. Hide is a little bit of a catch 22. Iff you can hide in an absolute safe place, then hide. But, most places, given enough time, can be found... and then you're stuck."
So if you find yourself out of options, he says, fight. He calls it "the bad math."
"A lot of times, the bad actor does not have an extraordinarily elegant plan so if you can disrupt what they thought was going to be a seamless activity, in any way, you can throw their math off and make them think. I want you thinking more than I'm thinking because I want to be moving."
And when you move, think 'low' and 'left'. Bruce says it's harder to hit a moving target, and even more so, when you're moving to the left. And by all means, make it a habit to plan your escape, as soon as you arrive.
"My girls, when they walk into a place, they go 'if I had to get out, how would I get out? If I had to protect, what would I use?'...so it's become a way of thinking as much as anything else," he said.
And while we would not ever second guess those terrorized in Orlando. Nor will a news story turn you into a solider. We are reminded, however, that knowledge is power.
"The true objective of terrorism is fear: and so the antidote to fear is readiness. And so anytime we take a step toward readiness for ourselves and others, we win," says Bruce.