Staying Safe by Nancy Hightshoe

As always Nancy Hightshoe has some excellent advice on how to stay safe. This is a great article on how to protect yourself if you are involved in a gun shooting in a public area. Stay Safe! Angela
 
We were all horrified and stunned yet again at the Tucson shooting outside a busy supermarket where Representative Gabrielle Giffords was meeting and listening to her constituents.
Rep. Giffords is healing well and the sadness over the loss of the other victims has settled into a place of remembrance for their innocence and heroism. If you don’t know their stories, I urge you to look them up on the web. Two men threw themselves over others and lost their own lives:
– Arizona’s chief federal judge, U.S. District Judge John Roll, saved a stranger and
– a loving husband, 76 year old Dorwin Stoddard, saved his wife, Mary, who had been his grade school sweetheart.
The death of the youngest victim, 9 year old Christina Greene, who was interested in politics and just might have been a future president, tugged at all our heart strings. Christina’s death was especially painful for other children and for their parents who were reminded of how easy it is to lose a child in a senseless criminal act.
Six people were killed, 13 wounded. The only thing that stopped the shooter from killing more people was that his weapon jammed. (Most shooters come prepared with A LOT of ammunition.)
As he was attempting to reload, 61 year old Patricia Maisch, from St. Louis, wrestled a magazine of bullets away from him.
A critically important lesson from Tucson to consider before the next shooting incident
Sadly, past events have made it perfectly clear that there will be future incidents. Mass assaults with apparently random victims have taken place in schools, universities, houses of worship, libraries, malls, restaurants, town hall and school board meetings, on public transportation and in front of a supermarket.
How many of these locations are you, your family and friends and your coworkers in?
Would you know what to do in a similar situation?
Learning to be safe is learning the principles which will carry you through many different situations.
The Tucson shooting shootings are essentially the same as the Virginia Tech tragedy and similar shootings in a Salt Lake City library, a Missouri church, the Long Island commuter train, a court house trial and city hall meeting in a “safe” St. Louis suburb (with 7 killed at city hall), a number of schools and other places where we all spend time. (Learn more safety techniques in “Out of Harm’s Way” seminar)
The chain of events are also very similar to what occurs in workplace violence incidents. (Defusing Workplace Violence – Risk Factors, Prevention And Survival Strategies seminar)
Take This One Question Quiz
Police often arrive very quickly at these crimes scenes. But what do you do until law enforcement arrives?
If a gunman entered the room or the area where you, and perhaps your family and friends are, what would you do?
A. Hide under the closest table or behind a pillar or door.
B. Phone the police.
C. Negotiate or plead for everyone’s safety.
D. Run. Escape out a window. Anywhere you can get away.
E. Stand absolutely still without looking at him so he doesn’t notice you.
F. Lock Down. If you can’t run, retreat to a room, lock the door and stack furniture in front of the door. Do whatever you can to place a barricade between you and the assailant.
G. Text message your loved ones.
H. Pray
* Think about your choices and your response. The best choice in a tough situation is at the end of this newsletter.
Since people always pay more attention when a situation is what the news media refers to as Top of Mind, now would be the perfect time to book a safety seminar.
In addition to a more indepth discussion of what to do if you’re caught in a shooting incident, the seminars also address these issues:
· How to recognize and avoid potential robbery, carjacking and assault situations
· For which crimes resistance is effective. Women who resist in a potential assault situation are twice as likely to escape. On the other hand, resistance can be extremely dangerous. Individuals who resist in a robbery run a very high risk of serious injury.
· Why business professionals are especially vulnerable.
· Which crimes are a greater threat to men and what are the safest responses.
If you have any questions or thoughts you would like to review,
Please phone me at 314-865-2944 to discuss your specific concerns, challenges and goals. We look forward to working with you!
* In most situations, the smartest response is to RUN! It’s best to run in a zigzag pattern seeking as much cover as possible. Keep in mind that, if he can see you, he can shoot you. Statistically, you have a
– 25% chance of being hit by the bullet and
– 12.5% chance that a vital organ will be hit.
The reality is that ONLY 2% of the individuals who run from a gunman are actually hit and fatally wounded. Firing at a moving, weaving target is extremely difficult.
If you can’t escape (for instance, if you’re too high to jump safely and the assailant is between you and an exit), “F” is your next best action. While you are running or barricading, I suggest you both “B” and “H” – phone the police and pray!
** The answer which seems to come most naturally to the majority of respondents is to Hide. In the Tucson incident, the shooter had walked around a column to shoot the person hiding there. Fortunately, that’s when his gun jammed as he was trying to insert the second clip.
I hope my unique background, experience and expertise are an excellent match for future programs you are planning.
Nancy
Nancy Hightshoe, M.A.
Seminars & LifeSkills Coaching to Meet Your Needs