This post is by Bernie Carr, apartmentprepper.com
In the past couple of weeks, there have been several attacks where innocent people going about their day got hurt or killed.
- A shooter in Ohio killed nine people and injured 27 in a popular entertainment district during the early morning hours of August 4th 2019.
- Not even 24 hours prior to the Ohio shooting, a shooter killed 20 and injured 26 others in a Walmart in El Paso.
- On July 28, just a couple of weeks before, a shooter killed three people and injured 11 at a garlic festival in Gilroy, California.
Our hearts are saddened for the victims and their families. At the same time one can’t helped but be alarmed at the frequency of these random attacks. I’m not even going to discuss motives or reasons these attackers may have had, but one thing I noticed was all the victims were just going about their normal business. No one expects to get shot while going to Walmart, attending a festival or visiting an entertainment district.
How do you prepare?
I have been thinking about this since I heard the witness and victim interviews. There really is not an easy answer. Even with the prevalence of online shopping, you can’t really say, “I’ll never go to a store.” At some point you may need something and need to go to a brick and mortar store. The El Paso shooting happened in a Walmart as families were doing their back to school shopping.
The only thing you can do is mentally prepare yourself that anything can happen, and become very vigilant.
Five habits that can help your survival chances
- Pay attention to your surroundings wherever you might be. Put away the smart phone and just make a note of who or what’s around you. Try some situational awareness exercises and train yourself to be observant. Learn to blend into your surroundings. and avoid attracting attention.
- Know all the exits. Whenever I enter an area, I automatically look around for other exits. It is not difficult to adopt this habit. Try it a few times and pretty soon it will become second nature.
- Know the difference between cover and concealment. Concealment is anything you can hide behind and keep you from being spotted. It will not protect you in any other way. Cover hides and protects you at the same time. In a future article, we will look at possible sources of cover.
- Keep some distance between yourself and others. It is better to avoid crowds, but if you had to be around a lot of people, see if you can have maintain some distance from others so you are able to react.
- Believe in a positive turnout. Believe that you will get through an experience no matter what. If you have an unshakeable faith that you will turn out fine, you increase your chances of survival.
There have been a lot of violent events this past few weeks. These are perilous times we live in. These habits do not guarantee survival but they may help improve your chances. This list is certainly not all inclusive. I am sure there are a lot more ways to stay safe. Please share in the comments your ideas on improving survival chances.
Stay safe everyone!
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Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
When I am in pubic I dress in darker solid colors. I do not dress in bright colors that make me stand out. The 1st thing I do is check and find all the exits I can. There are times you need to know when you need to run and times you need to take cover. Behind some thing good and solid.
It’s good to blend in to the surroundings, check exits and stay behind something solid. Thanks for these additional tips.