Pub. 7 2017-2018 Issue 2

11 intent is to commit a mass shooting. It’s about the body count to them. “Gun Free” zones are inviting, soft targets to a shooter. It makes no sense to these murderous whackos to attempt the same thing at a location where people are trained and prepared to fight back. Protect: Most schools, government buildings, churches and corporate settings have adopted the “Run, Hide, Fight” response to an active shooter incident. I personally believe this is a good starting place for a conversation about a solid, relevant and effective response plan to an active shooter incident. The concepts of “Run and Hide” are virtually self-explanatory. However, the “Fight” portion of the plan is vague and open for interpretation. No one really knows what that means. Without guidance or an established protocol this becomes very subjective. I struggle to wrap my head around so many mass shootings where (facts from the cases) we know people were gunned down at close range. People ran, people tried to hide behind whatever they could find, people huddled and people were executed. How is it that the hit ratio for mass shootings is 50%? That’s more accurate than the national average for trained law enforcement during a shoot- ing. The answer is simple; the targets are confined, remain at close range and are not moving. This works in the favor of the shooter right? Yes, unless… We need to change our mental approach to our response to an active shooter. All of the dynamics that work in favor of the active shooter also work in our favor if we change our mindset. We need to reject victimhood! In almost every mass shooting in the US, the per- petrators were not trained shooters or tacticians. They were crazy people that made some effort to plan a shooting and had the equipment and ability to carry out the murders. Remember, they have not committed a mass shooting before (even if they have rehearsed it) and they will all experience tunnel vision (where the focus is intense on a specific effort, losing perspective of their surroundings). Jump up and fight back! If a shooter were targeting your child, would you run, hide or just huddle? None of the above! You would act! You would attack the person trying to hurt your child. It’s in our DNA to protect our kids. You might be a horrible swimmer, terrified of the water. But if your child falls in, you don’t stand by, assessing all the reasons why not, weighing the risks associated with jumping in. You act! So what is the difference here? I don’t get it! Turn the tables on the shooter. Do the unexpected. FIGHT BACK! The circumstances that make it easy for him to have such a high hit ratio are in your favor now. The shooter is in a confined environment too, he is at close range (25 feet or less) and he is not very mobile. Most shooters do not stray from their shooting base while firing a weapon. Additionally he is not expecting any resistance. The second you close distance and attack the shooter; he must process what is happening. He will have to recognize, assess and react to the attack. That process takes time (in law enforcement we call it lag time). Take the fight to this coward. Fight for your life, fight for those you love. Fight for those around you who cannot protect themselves. You might get banged up, cut, burned or even shot. So what? Make an effort! I cannot think of anything more vicious than a Mom protecting her child. If you are the target of her aggression you are in for a knockdown drag out fight. Be the Momma Bear! There are a lot of ways to skin a cat when it comes to disarming techniques. There are probably some respected and proven professionals out there that can teach you a “better way” to disarm an active shooter. And, if you have time to go to them and train, by all means, go do it! My staff and I at YouTactical will continue to empower teachers (and anyone else who wants to learn) with knowledge through practical application training sessions. You can count on this, while a certain number of people will finger smash their keyboards typing their opinions, we are busy training individuals to be the solution. If we can create a culture where no matter what, we are going to fight back; mass shootings will become less produc- tive. Prepare to be the Solution. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this editorial are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of theUtahAssociation of Public Charter School. Mr. Dave Acosta has been working side by side with the world’s most elite perform- ers for over twenty years. Dave started his career in Las Vegas; he spent ten years in specialized units, including six years as the point man on the North Las Vegas SWAT Team. Dave moved on to become an inter- national tactical instructor as well as a team leader for high-risk protection teams in Iraq, Afghanistan, Africa, andLatinAmerica. Dave has conducted over 1200 real world tactical missions and his company, YouTactical, continues to provide protection and tactical training to clients around the globe. The time Dave spends over-seas is spent working with handpicked operators and instructors. The majority of these men are former Navy SEALs, Army Special Forces and Marine Recon operators. He currently trains and works with various law enforcement Tactical Teams fromBrazil, training 150 team-members a year. These tactical schools include subjects such as Urban Counter Ambush, CQB, High-risk Tactical Operations, Tactical Handgun, Tactical M4 (similar), and much more. Dave is considered a national authority on mass shootings/active shooter and has trained more than 2500 teachers in fight back techniques. He is a regular guest on Fox13, KSL and many other media outlets where is used as a resource for his extensive tactical background.