Written by: Greg Ellifritz
Please be careful this week. Terrorists and crazy people put a lot of credence in the importance of symbolism. Historical anniversary dates are important to them.
This week contains the anniversary dates of:
– The Boston Bombing
– The Columbine Shooting
– The Virginia Tech Massacre
– The final day of the Waco Hostage Siege
– The Oklahoma City Bombing
– Hitler’s Birthday
Some researchers call April “The start of the killing season.”
Photo from article linked above.
On the other hand, many researchers do not think of April as a statistical outlier. With that said, if you track total numbers of terrorist/active killer attacks, April does not seem to be an anomaly. What that research doesn’t calculate is the number of fatalities and the amount of media attention we see in previous April attacks.
A lot of the attacks with a larger than average victim count happened in April. Many of the most emotionally impactful attacks happened in April as well. Remember what I noted above, killers look for a massive body count and many of them do it to pay some sort of homage to killers who previously created massive carnage.
Use some extra caution in your daily activities this week. Read up on some of the bombing and active killer information linked below and be prepared to protect yourself.
Active Shooter Response for the Armed Citizen
10 Tips for Surviving a Terrorist Vehicle Attack
Surviving Mob Attacks on your Vehicle
Armed Citizen Response to the Terrorist Bomber
Don’t Evacuate into a Parking Lot
Field Medicine for Terrorist Attacks
Besides exercising general awareness, I would avoid any large public groups or protests this week. If you do have to frequent a large gathering or one with emotional significance, remain on the edges of the crowd so that you can get away quickly in the event of an attack. Make sure to stay alert and look for any potential threat cues. You should be constantly aware of the closest piece of cover and the nearest escape route. Don’t hesitate to bolt at the first sign that something bad is happening. Carrying medical gear on your person this week wouldn’t be a bad idea either.
I hope we make it through the week without another large scale attack. People are crazy, but you don’t have to allow them to victimize you.
Stay dangerous.
