Last week I published an article on the difference between “mass shootings” and active killer events. Yesterday, I was scanning my news feed and came across the article linked below.
Missouri groom shot in robbery during his backyard wedding
In last week’s article, I mentioned how most of the reported recent “mass shootings” have taken place at large outdoor public gatherings. Although only the groom was shot during the wedding robbery incident I mentioned above, it struck me that he was targeted at another type of large outdoor gathering (his own wedding). Michael Bane’s commentary on my article included advice to stay away from any public place where large groups of young men gather late at night.
It’s generally good advice, but have you considered that the large public gathering could be a wedding, birthday party, cookout, or other celebration that YOU ARE HOSTING? Avoiding your own outdoor wedding isn’t really an option. Take a look at some of the incidents linked below that have occurred at outdoor gatherings this summer.
Hunt continues for suspects in shooting at Ohio party that left 1 dead and 27 others injured
Shooting at a party in Alabama’s capital leaves 13 injured, officials say
Eight Injured in Party Shooting
Six People Shot at Colorado Block Party
13 Hurt after Party Shooting
Four injured in Graduation Party Shooting
All of these shootings happened in the last few weeks. All of them happened on private property where outdoor gatherings were taking place.
It’s great to stay away from “stupid people” and “stupid places,” but what if that “stupid place” is your back yard and those “stupid people” are your friends or family members?
Have you considered that your outdoor party or gathering might be the target of such an attack? What’s the best way to defend your outdoor gathering from one or more folks trying to shoot the place up?
Here are some things to think about:
1) This type of shooting is often gang or drug related. Don’t host or go to parties with drug dealers and gang members, even if they are your family members.
2) With that said, it could happen anywhere. Think about possibilities of mistaken identity (the bad guys THINK it’s the dealer’s house), disgruntled co-workers, angry ex-spouses, etc. This kind of mass shooting could happen at your party even if you aren’t slinging dope.
3) Do you carry a gun to large parties and gatherings? What about a child’s birthday party? I bet many of you don’t. Maybe you should. I bet some of the people at the parties in the news articles above wish they had been carrying. How do you carry a gun when you are going to be in close contact with children or drunken partygoers? Some additional concealment or retention might be called for.
4) Identify cover and concealment. Whenever I am in a large group of people, the first thing I do on arrival is look for all of the exits and look for something that stops bullets to hide behind.. It just takes a couple of seconds, but now I have a plan if things go bad. You should do the same thing. Find a couple ways to exit that fenced in backyard, even if one of them is hopping the fence itself. Know how to get out both the front and the back of any party houses you visit.
5) How good is your long range pistol shooting? In the article I wrote last week, I urged my readers to avoid getting involved in a public mass shooting. The equation changes dramatically when the shooting occurs on your property and you feel responsible for your guests’ safety.
We know that most defensive shootings take place inside of 20 feet, but in cases like these you may have to reach out farther. Can you take a 50-yard shot across a back yard with your carry pistol? Try it sometime (at a range, not in your backyard). You’ll quickly stop carrying the snubby .38s and little .380s as primary guns when fighting ranges increase. Long distances combined with lots of innocent people running around virtually demand that you carry a full-sized pistol.
6) What about spare magazines? Do you carry at least one? It’s possible that some of these attackers used rifles. If you are going up against a killer armed with an AK using just your CCW pistol, there’s a good chance you might need some extra bullets.
7) Keeping the above in mind, do you have a long-gun handy? What if the shooters had multiple magazines and decided to stay put and keep shooting rather than fleeing? You may need something a little bigger to take care of things. A prolonged attack might be one of the rare occasions where a “car gun” would be useful. The chances of getting to it in time are exceedingly slim, but if the attack is of a longer duration, it’s a possibility.
I would most certainly want to have a long gun to defend against any additional reprisal attacks. Remember, the attackers may come back if you initially drive them off. How do you secure a rifle for easy access in your house when you have lots of house guests who may not be safe around guns?
8) In reference to the above point, do you even have a fighting long gun in your house? When hundreds of shots are being fired by multiple assailants at longer ranges, I promise you will want something with more accuracy and firepower than any of the pistols you own. Get a good fighting rifle now, while you can. You can pick up an AK-47 or AR-15 with a couple of magazines for well under $1000 currently. There really is no excuse not to get one. You may not be able to buy a rifle like that in the future.
After you get the rifle, get some good training with it.
9) If you don’t have a fighting rifle, at least have enough ammo for your hunting shotgun or rifle in case it needs to be pressed into service as a fighting gun. A nice AR-15 is great, but a well trained person with a lever action .30-30 or even a slug-loaded 12 gauge and enough rounds can be a force to be reckoned with while defending their party house from outside attackers.
10) What about medical supplies and training? If this happened at your house would you have the skills and supplies to treat multiple gunshot wound victims until the paramedics arrived? No, the box of bandaids, roll of medical tape, and tube of Neosporin won’t be enough. Learn military tactical medicine and have plenty of tourniquets, pressure bandages and hemostatic agents available. Ideally these supplies would be located in a single bag/backpack that is accessible to you and any other guests with medical training. Without being a major buzzkill, tell your medically-trained guests where your medical supplies are located.
11) Call 911 as soon as possible. If it were me, I’d concentrate on shooting and have someone else call. I don’t always carry a cell phone anyway, so as I’m moving to take the shot I would designate someone else to make the call.
If you are shooting (or even have a gun out) make sure the caller gives your description to the police so that you don’t get mistaken for the shooter by responding officers.
12) There will likely be numerous non-combatants in the area. Put them to use. If this was a big party, many guests will have cameras and phones in hand and potentially recording. If it’s possible, get one or more of the party goers to record the attackers from a position of cover. That will be very helpful for prosecution if the attackers are caught by police.
Don’t think that this type of event can’t happen to you. Fundamentally, the response for this attack is no different than the response to any other outdoor active killer attack. Plan to encounter multiple mobile attackers working against multiple surprised and unarmed victims in a contained area where evacuation is difficult.
Work on your plan.
