In a situation like the Colorado theater, I'd charge the bastard head on.

[HopeHoops]

Yeah, I'd die. But it might give others a chance to tackle him and save some lives more worthy of living than myself. Never run from danger - engage it. I've lived a long and good life. It's worth giving that up for a child who still has a life ahead of him/her.

[HopeHoops]

32. I've lived a good life. I'm not afraid to die. It's just the right thing to do.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. Not me; I'm a devout coward.

I'd be under the seats screaming.

[Loudly]

3. I don't think your body would allow you to do that.

Your body is committed to self preservation, not self sacrifice.

[lapislzi]

8. People dive onto live grenades.

It can be done. Whether it would be effective under the conditions of last evening is questionable. But, yes, there are many cases of suicide missions. I can think of a very famous one.

[KansDem]

22. USS Bausell

When my dad was in the Navy, he served on the USS Bausell--



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Bausell_(DD-845)

Named after Cpl. Lewis Kenneth Bausell, USMC

Corporal Lewis Kenneth Bausell (April 17, 1924 – September 18, 1944) was a United States Marine and posthumous recipient of the United States' highest military honor — the Medal of Honor — for his sacrifice of life, "above and beyond the call of duty", during World War II. During combat at Peleliu, he covered an exploding Japanese hand grenade in order to protect his comrades, and died of his wounds three days later. Bausell was the only enlisted Marine from the Nation's capital, Washington, D.C. to be awarded the Medal of Honor for actions during World War II.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_K._Bausell

He was only 20 years old.

Yes, it can be done...

[Edweird]

50. The mind controls the body, not the other way around.

[frazzled]

4. And you'd probably just be adding one more to the casualty list

It's nice to think you could stop it and save another life; but in reality, all that would probably happen is that you'd be gunned down before you could do anything to stop him.

[HopeHoops]

33. It might serve as enough of a distraction for someone else to tackle him.

[HuckleB]

71. The guy was spraying automatic weapon fire amidst smoke and in the dark.He w

He wouldn't even have seen you as you went down. No distraction, just bluster.

[lapislzi]

5. Before you could do that, you'd need your wits about you.

You're in a dark movie theater with a lot of noise, some cinematic explosions and gunfire; the same movie is playing simultaneously in theaters all around you. If you were not trained to recognize authentic real-time gunfire, I think you would be very confused. Then you would have to figure out where it was coming from and get to the shooter quickly. I'm not saying it couldn't or shouldn't be done (maybe some people even thought of it; we'll never know), but it wouldn't be easy.

I've listened to several eyewitness accounts. Most said they had no idea what was going on. Only one witness correctly identified semiautomatic gunfire.

[blueamy66]

48. I'd have to add that anyone who is up at midnight

to see a screening of a new movie doesn't really "have their wit's about them" in the first place....not that ANYONE deserved to be killed or injured or maimed, but, really, midnight for a stupid movie?

[PCIntern]

67. Well, yes as a matter of fact.

I arise at 4 AM to go drill teeth every morning, six mornings a week, and I have MY wits about me. A midnight movie is no big deal...we used to go out to EAT at 1:30 AM when I was in college and professional school.

[blueamy66]

77. okay

4 am to go to work and earn a paycheck is a bit different than midnight to see a stupid movie

but we'll have to agree to disagree

[backscatter712]

6. You don't know what you'd do in a situation like that until you've been in one.

When the bullets start flying, the adrenaline starts flowing, your brain goes into reptile mode - your cerebral cortex gets disconnected, and your actions are governed largely by your cerebellum and brain stem - the "reptile brain" - people just go on pure instinct, and don't even remember what they did.

[easttexaslefty]

17. This ^^^^

You don't know what you'd do until you're in a particular situation.

[GreenStormCloud]

31. How you train is how you fight.

That is why all effective militaries train so much. By the soldier repeating the same responses he gets a set of decisions learned and pre-made so that he doesn't have to think at a time when he doesn't have the time to think.

[Hoyt]

60. This is not a war zone, and anyone training that much for a situation like this is suspect.

[wandy]

79. Spot on. I'd have go with duck and cover, I think...........

This I say from here in the nice safe quiet of my office.
Under those conditions I'm not sure if the "Fight" part of the "Fight or Flight" instinct would not have kicked in.
Oh it would have been dumb probably suicidal, still you don't know until it happens.
When I was 20, if you told me I had the stones to pull someone out of a burning car I would have called you crazy.
Now; I'd just smile.
Make that smirk.

[Bandit]

89. Exactly

When you are in the shit, instinct takes over. It is nice to say you would do this or that but reality usually is quite different..

[jberryhill]

7. It's not clear how he was stopped

But, yes, if multiple people charge a shooter like that from different directions, you might as well be one of them.

[AsahinaKimi]

19. According to KUSA TV news

He was standing by his car, when the police found him. He didn't put up a fight but just surrendered.

[trof]

53. He wasn't "stopped", according to eye witnesses.

He just walked outside and waited for police by his car.

[hamsterjill]

9. A noble thought.

I would hope that if I were in a situation like this that SOMEONE would have the guts to charge the shooter.

That said, I don't think anyone of us really knows for sure what we would do in a situation like this unless that person had actually been in a situation like this.

I'm a 53 year old female, and I'm sure I'd probably start running.

But I will tell you that many years ago, I confronted a burglar during a break-in at my house. He wound up running away, thankfully. But the stakes were high for me at that moment because my 2 year old daughter was in the house with me. So, many times, it depends on who you're trying to save other than just yourself, perhaps?

[shanti]

73. you too?

(break in) i had that happen to me many years ago too. thank god, neither of us (there were three of them and one of me) had a weapon or it could have gotten ugly. when confronted, they just ran. the personal violation is something you never forget.

[hamsterjill]

88. That's right.

The personal violation is something you never forget. And I think experiencing something like that first hand changes your perspective in many ways.

Glad your experience turned out such as mine did - and no one was hurt.

[KansDem]

10. I believe there are more of us than one might expect...

...who would do the same thing.

Especially those of us in our 50s and 60s who've have a chance to reflect on our lives and, if we conclude it hasn't been particularly happy or successful, would have charged the shooter in hopes of saving other, younger lives who might have a better future.

Kind of like that elderly Japanese man written about a month or two ago. He said he'd volunteer to clean up Fukushima so younger workers wouldn't have to endanger their lives.

I suppose it's the kind of wisdom and acceptance that comes with age...

[HopeHoops]

35. That's basically what I was getting at. I'm 49 with a failing body. Last great act of defiance...

I think most people our age would self-sacrifice to save the younger ones.

[HooptieWagon]

11. Its easy to claim on the internet that you'd be heroic.

But the reality is none of us can predict how we'd react in a chaotic and violent situation... Even cops and military appear to get it wrong on a frequent basis.

[pinboy3niner]

12. Shit, I've had a good life

If I did something like that, they'd call me a 'hero.'

They wouldn't know that it wouldn't be a big deal for me. I saw plenty of death and destruction in Vietnam. And I'm much older now, and precisely when I die means much less to me. But HOW I die--to the extent that that is up to me, I'd prefer to go saving others. And my cold, dead corpse wouldn't care what you called me.

[HopeHoops]

36. Actually, doing that would just get one on the "victims" list.

[pinboy3niner]

40. They can call me whatever they like when I'm gone

For now, at least, I have a helluva lot of friends. They are in my heart and I am in theirs. That's good enough for me.

[HopeHoops]

44. I charged one of my daughters with my epitaph:"I thought, therefore I was. Now I don't, so I'm not."

[pinboy3niner]

45. I haven't gottten around to planning my epitaph yet

"My friends, I love you" sounds pretty lame.

I'll have to think of something better befor I g...GAAAACK.

[HopeHoops]

62. I came up with that one when I was about 19.

[coalition_unwilling]

13. I'd like to think I would do the same (were I single). But I've never been under

fire and do not know whether I could summon up that reserve of self-sacrifice once the bullets were flying.

[Swede]

14. No one knows how they will pass that test,til it occurs.

I hope I'd have that courage,too,HopeHoops.

[flamingdem]

15. That's a good instinct

Thankful that people still have the sense of protecting others. I understand it's built in to some of us, you are one that others need in such moments.

[Lizzie Poppet]

16. Might be the best course of action.

Not only might such an aggressive reaction surprise the shooter enough to miss you and give you a chance to tackle him, but like you say, your sacrifice might allow others to live. "No greater love," as they say...

I like to think I'd have the necessary courage to do something similar. I've been in somewhat similar (but far lesser) situations and didn't lose my courage, but you never really know until it actually happens. Of course, me charging a 6'3" guy like that (I'm a foot shorter and weigh 109lbs) wouldn't accomplish anything on its own, but maybe others would see and pile on.

[AsahinaKimi]

18. According to the news...

He had a shotgun and I think they said an AK-47. I don't think you would get too close without being, literally blown away.

[quinnox]

20. that would be crazy

You would make an easy target and be blown away quick. Obviously you want to jump a shooter like this from behind. Unless you were doing a deliberate kamikaze mission to distract the gunman from someone about to knock him down from behind.

[Poll_Blind]

21. Yet none of the victims there stopped him. Because unlike you, they were (fill in the blank)

For those scoring at home, the correct answer is "there".

PB

[Posteritatis]

24. Yep. It's easy to go all "RARR ME TOUGH MAN" the day after from a safe distance. (nt)

[Chorophyll]

68. Yep. nt

[cbdo2007]

23. I'm a pretty smart guy....but in that situation, I don't think I'd be able to process what was...

happening quickly enough to be able to take appropriate action.

Sure, I'd like to say that I'd do this or that and be a hero (either alive or dead) but when in high stress situations like that my comprehension level lowers to the point that I wouldn't be sure what's going on. Or maybe it's that I'm an analyst, so my mind gets bogged down analyzing every aspect of everything, that would prohibit me from actually figuring out what's going on.

Besides that I would be trying with all of my being to protect my wife or kids.

Hey, more power to you if you could actually do it, but in that situation it's hard to do what you "plan" and you just kick into survival instinct mode.

[raccoon]

25. Hope, I don't think any of us know what we'd do in a situation like that.

I think about things like that sometimes. But just contemplating it I don't think anybody really knows. People in the real situation are taken by surprise.

[hedgehog]

26. Thinking ahead of what you might do in a bad situation is a way of

rehearsing or deciding what to do . I was very young when Kitty Genovese was murdered.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Kitty_Genovese)

Ever since then , I've made the decision to interfere. Better to be embarrassed than shamed.

[GreenStormCloud]

27. I would draw my own gun and return fire.

That assumes that I had a clear line of fire. If there were people in the way I would not be able to return fire. In that case I would take cover and hope a clear line of fire opened up.

Yes, I would have a gun on me, because I always carry one - legally.

[rgbecker]

28. With more than 100,000 permits to carry in Colorado,

I'm surprised someone wasn't there to do as you would have done....

or is it actually harder to do protecting with guns than those that carry would have us believe?

[GreenStormCloud]

30. It would likely be very difficult in a theater.

You always absolutely need a clear line of fire before you shoot. The crowd in a movie theater would likely put a lot of people in the way. You never want to take a chance on shooting an innocent by mistake. If I ever have to shoot in crowded situation I will need to be so close to the guy that I can almost touch him, or he will need to be in a clear spot such as up on a stage.

Of course, I hope I never actually need to draw and fire at anyone.

[sarisataka]

38. Many theaters are posted as gun-free zones.

I do not know if they have the weight of law in CO.

[Marrah_G]

76. There were smoke bombs so I am thinking clear shots would have been a miracle

[GreenStormCloud]

87. You are likely correct.

The only thing a responsible CCWer could do in that case would be to keep the gun holstered and try to take cover or escape, but be ready if the miracle occurred.

[RebelOne]

29. Not me. I'm a coward. I'd be heading for the nearest exit. n/t

[HopeHoops]

37. Curiously, from the news reports, he was firing at those who ran away.

[RebelOne]

90. Well then, I would be ducking under the seats. n/t

[HopeHoops]

94. Probably wise. I never claimed to be wise.

[Blue_Tires]

34. How would you have even known who the shooter was

in a dark theater with everybody scrambling, or even how many shooters there were??

[HopeHoops]

41. The one with the guns?

[Blue_Tires]

78. You've got better eyesight than I do

Dark theater, man dressed in all black, movie is playing a shootout scene at max volume, and a couple hundred people running and screaming...

[HopeHoops]

80. I do have cat-like vision. I still wear glasses, but my night vision is unusually acute.

[sarisataka]

39. Watching the eyewitness interviews...

this is what made me sad. No one seems to have even thought of attacking him, even where in close proximity.

I do understand that mentally and physically many people could not bring them to do such a thing. It seems however that we train ourselves to be victims. Submit and hope for the best; think of others after you have made it to safety.

One in particular I am thinking of was a woman who said she was three feet away, fired into the ceiling then lowered the gun. She could have either tried to tackle him or grab the gun and just pull. I do not question her courage. It just seems the though of resisting never passed her mind.

[quaker bill]

42. Most have not been conditioned to respond with an attack

It is not natural and it takes training, which is why the military has boot camps. The natural instinct is to flee or duck and cover. There is science behind training people to a different response, real science, not woo. The military puts this into practice.

[HopeHoops]

43. I was at a fireworks display when my (now 21) eldest daughter was an infant.

A group of teens was shooting off bottle rockets about 50 feet away. The security guards did nothing. I finally went down and bitched them out about it. On the way back to our blanket I got applause from damn near everyone.

On the way out, the group was waiting and ambushed us. I had a hiking backpack on and was holding my infant. The guy who seemed to be leading the group said he would punch me in the face if I wasn't holding the baby. I gave my daughter to my wife and as soon as I released her he smashed my glasses in a cold-cock punch from the side.

Then he tackled me (note: I still have the backpack on). He got on top and was pounding me, not a problem. When you're in that situation you go turtle and let them burn off energy. Then he suddenly got up and ran away. My wife explained. We had a half-gallon cooler jug filled with wine cooler. While he was on top of me, she slammed it over his head, breaking the handle, and then started jabbing him in the side of the head with the sharp broken handle ends. She'd handed our daughter off to a woman standing nearby. I still laugh about that, but I won't back down if I know I'm in the right, and neither will she. I'm in degraded physical health now, but I'm still not going to back down to an aggressor. THAT's what "stand your ground" means, not shooting someone for farting near your house.

[yawnmaster]

55. In today's society resistance to force is not normally supported or taught. eom

[HopeHoops]

64. Agreed. I wasn't taught it either. I'm just a stubborn bastard who doesn't stand down.

[raccoon]

98. I sure wish you were in a 12-step group I go to, where nobody wants to deal with a disruptive

person.

Correction, that I used to go to. Don't know if I'll go back or not.

[Nye Bevan]

46. It's so easy while sitting at your keyboard, calmly in the daylight, to make claims about what you

would do.

In a dark, smoky, theater, amidst the panic and confusion, it is of course a different matter.

[Recovered Repug]

47. It's a hell of a lot safer, too. nt.

[HopeHoops]

65. And the popcorn is cheaper.

[Arugula Latte]

49. That's easy to say. But I'm sure it was pure chaos in there.

It would be hard to see, for one thing, with all the smoke.

I don't know how I'd react, and neither does anybody else who hasn't been in that precise situation.

[Marrah_G]

51. It's easy to say that- doing it the shock of the moment is very different.

From all accounts it was over pretty rapidly and the place was filled with smoke.

[panader0]

52. I'm with you HopeHoops

[trof]

54. Thanks. You do that while I'm ducking below the seats...

and trying to do the Marine belly crawl to an exit.
When my self preservation instinct kicks in I'm powerless against it.

[yawnmaster]

57. Humans have the ability to act against instinct...

it is a talent fairly unique in the natural order.

[nolabear]

56. Noble thought, but it was dark and there was tear gas. But if it was possible, good.

I say this because I don't want to fault anyone who didn't for not doing so. We don't know what it was like.

God this is sad.

[BOG PERSON]

58. i believe you. (n/t)

[DevonRex]

59. You already know if you're the type who could do that.

It's a very specific automatic reaction that you would have had at various times through your life. You either have it or you don't. Hopefully comes with the ability to size up the situation very quickly, too.

[HuckleB]

72. The "type" that might do that wouldn't post about it on the Internet.

[DevonRex]

84. Yup.

Last edited Mon Jul 23, 2012, 03:11 PM - Edit history (1)

Not often anyway

[Daemonaquila]

61. That would've been kind of pointless.

Unless you had a game plan and a weapon that wouldn't endanger others. It's nice to say stuff like that, but putting yourself in danger to get others out of the line of fire would save far more lives than just eating one bullet and barely slowing him down.

[Chorophyll]

63. Would you really?

You know this for sure, huh? Wow.

[HopeHoops]

66. Thought wouldn't factor into it.

[Chorophyll]

69. Well, now you've given me a straight line.

But I don't want to get hidden or banned, so I'll let it pass.

[HopeHoops]

70. Oh, that's easy - "I'm tryin' to think but nothin's happenin'." - Curley from The Three Stooges

[NYC_SKP]

74. I would too, or be right there with you. It's happened before.

Three times, in fact, but only once with a gun. And one time as the singular victim with four perpetrators I didn't resist at all (East Houston Street and Avenue B, Lower East Side).

One can scarcely help it, it's kind of automatic.

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

75. Or you might've shit your pants while remaining

frozen in your seat. Or you might've jumped behind the seating row behind you. Or you might've tackled the person next to you to keep them from getting shot. Or who knows maybe run over them to save yourself. The point is. Hindsight is 20 20. No one has a clue how they would react and as it's been pointed out here. It's real easy to sit home and type about our imagined heroics.

[11 Bravo]

81. Perhaps you would. I don't know you, nor do I know if you have ever been shot at.

I have been under fire on more than one occasion, and while I like to think that I would react as you claim you would, I can't say so with any degree of certainty.
The last time I broke cover in a firefight, I wound up in Walter Reed. Perhaps that experience would give me pause in a similar situation, I honestly don't know.

[HopeHoops]

82. Any child is worth more than I am. I've lived a good life. A child has a life before them.

[11 Bravo]

83. I understand, and I honor your sentiment. I'm merely trying to point out that ...

even if you have experienced it, it is damned difficult to predict how one may react upon hearing the signature "phhht" of a bullet passing near your head.

[HopeHoops]

85. Not having heard it, I can't claim it would be a "signature". It's just what we do as humans.

[sylvi]

86. Depends on the "terrain"

If I was in a position to flank the shooter a bit and maybe hit him on his blind side, maybe.

Charging alone straight down an empty theater aisle with everyone behind me beating feet in the opposite direction, well, probably wouldn't accomplish anything but guaranteeing my own death without slowing the shooter down a heartbeat. If I was with my family my first thought would probably be to stay with them and try to shield them.

I've had a pistol pulled on me in a robbery but I've never been shot at. Unless you're disciplined from combat experience I would think that "Little Bill" Daggett's sardonic observation would almost universally hold true - "I mean, that'll just flat rattle some folks."

[Odin2005]

91. It's easy to say that when you were not there.

Most people think they will be self-sacrificing when the SHTF, but when it does happen it's totally different.

[madokie]

92. I'd give up my life in a heart beat to save a 6 year old

or any of these young people. Take the bull by the horns is how I've lived my whole life and its served me well.

[HopeHoops]

95. Exactly.

[DevonRex]

97. Then you know.

It's a life thing. You know it by how you live your whole life and how you value others.

[madokie]

99. Yes, I'm on the back side of my life

I've lived a full life and if giving it up would save a younger person count me in.

[datasuspect]

93. your average person (without LEO or military training)

will automatically freeze up when the first rounds start popping.

some of us automatically hit the deck.

but no, the opportunity for cartoon or movie heroism usually doesn't present itself in a live fire situation that happens in a public place.

yours is a nice sentiment, but i don't see it working in practice.

one round neutralizes you, shooter gets to keep shooting.

[lame54]

96. you can't even get up to go the bathroom in a crowded theatre...

you never would have made it to him with the pandemonium and climbing over seats and people rushing around - it had to have been completely chaotic