How to Survive if You Are in the Line of Gunfire
Original image by Skitterphoto on Pexels.
(Thanks to Marcel Altenburg, a Captain in the British armed forces for more than a decade, who is a Fellow in Crowd Safety and Risk Analysis at Manchester Metropolitan University in the U.K.)
IF YOU ARE A PRIMARY TARGET
Get as far away as possible.
An untrained shooter isn’t likely to be accurate at any distance greater than 60 feet.
Run fast, in an unpredictable pattern.
Run in unrhythmic zig zags, which will make it difficult for a shooter to draw a bead on you.
Do not bother to count shots.
You will have no idea if the shooter has more ammunition. Counting is only for the movies.
Turn a corner as quickly as you can.
Stay low.
Untrained shooters tend to shoot at shoulder/chest height. If you stay low, shots should go above you.
IF YOU ARE NOT THE PRIMARY TARGET
Get down and stay down.
Do not crouch—get flat on your stomach and stay there. If the intended target is near you or if the shooter is firing at random, staying down is your best option until you feel it is safe to run for cover.
If you are outside and can get behind a car, run to it.
Lie behind a tire on the opposite side of the car from the shooter. If no cars are present, lie in the gutter next to the curb.
If you are inside a building and the shooter is inside, get to another room and lie flat.
If you cannot get to another room, move behind any heavy thick objects (a solid desk, filing cabinets, tables, a couch) for protection.
If you find yourself face to face with the shooter, do anything you can to make yourself less of a target.
Turn sideways, stay low—stray bullets are likely to be at least a few feet above the ground.
If the shooter is outside, stay inside and stay away from doors and windows.
Stay down until the shooting stops or until authorities arrive and give the all clear.
Do not move—lie completely still and the shooter may think you are injured or dead.