It’s a sad reality that although active killer situations are appearing with greater frequency in the media, they’ve been going on for not only decades, but centuries. In fact, the first active killer situation to be recorded in United States history took place in 1764. That incident is known as the Pontiac’s Rebellion school massacre and involved a group of Lenape American Indians murdering a schoolteacher and around ten children. At the time of this writing, the most recent active killer in a school took place in Uvalde, Texas, in 2022. Have you ever wondered what you’d do in an armed active killer situation? Did you know there are classes for that?
What is an Active Killer?
The first thing that needs to be addressed is exactly what an active killer is because you’ll notice differences in terminology between the firearms industry and the mainstream media. In the media, active killers are called “active shooters.” While this is technically correct because the murderers in question are armed with firearms, it isn’t truly accurate. In reality, a person who is actively shooting could be some guy at the range or a deer hunter. Within the firearms industry, you’ll notice that active shooters are often called “active killers” because the term more precisely defines their actions. This is why you’ll see active shooters making headlines in the mainstream media and active killers being discussed by many experienced gun owners and instructors.
Is this simply a difference in terminology? Does it really matter? That depends on who you ask. Drawing a hard line between lawful gun owners and murderers who choose guns as their weapon of choice is smart, though. Killers are their own category.
What is Active Killer Interdiction Training?
As active killer threats have seemingly escalated, defensive training opportunities for those types of situations have also been created. A class like the Firearms Academy of Seattle’s Active Killer Interdiction or Gunsite Academy’s Active Shooter/Terrorist Threat course includes drills and lectures on things a standard self-defense class might not. It’s a far different thing to defend yourself or your loved ones from an armed murderer in public than to defend your life in your own home. There are endless nuances and factors to take into consideration when you’re in the public, whether it’s the mall, the grocery store, or a school.
A well-designed active killer interdiction class will spend some time discussing the mentality of an active killer and will also touch on your own mental process. Although people like to believe they’d respond to a deadly threat bravely, it’s impossible to know how you will react until it happens. That said, if you make a plan in advance regarding what you are and are not willing to do or get involved with, it can go a long way toward keeping you steady when the adrenaline is soaring and fear is thick in the air.
On the tactics side, it’s good if the class in question has a shoot house scenario using airsoft or UTM guns. That gives participants a chance to find out how they’ll react in various situations, and it’s a great learning experience. Even better when the students are allowed to observe everyone who enters the house after they’ve had their turn.
There are other topics and drills covered in an active killer interdiction course, but this gives you a general idea of what to expect.
What is the Self-Defense Mindset?
The self-defense mindset applies to all forms of self-defense, but when it comes to an active killer situation, there are a few additional issues to consider. Generally speaking, when we talk about a self-defense mindset it has to do with making the decision to use your firearm to defend yourself—or your loved ones—against an immediate, credible threat, should the situation arise. This choice is made well in advance. Some people realize they cannot and could not ever draw a firearm and aim it at a human being, let alone pull the trigger. It’s important to know this about yourself before anything happens because brandishing a gun in an attempt to scare someone off is a bad idea and also a way to have it taken from you and used against you.
Having the correct mentality for self-defense has to do with being prepared, alert, oriented to your surroundings, and willing to utilize force up to and including deadly force if you are attacked. In an active killer incident, there are other things to think about in advance, such as:
- Are you going to attempt to escape, or stay and try to stop the killer?
- Are you only going to get involved in stopping the killer if they are in your immediate vicinity, or will you seek them out in the aisles of, say, a grocery store?
- If your significant other is with you, does that affect your plans to flee or fight? How?
- If your kids are with you, will you try to escape with them, and stay out, or would you leave them somewhere safe and return to help other people?
- If you’re alone on the street and witness a blatant active killer situation, will you insert yourself into the incident to try to stop the killer?
- How will you let law enforcement and other good guys know that you, yourself, are not the killer if you insert yourself into the situation when the killer is not right in front of you?
- If you’re with your significant other, and they carry a gun, have the two of you trained together in team tactics? Is one of you better able to defend you both than the other?
Most people want to believe that when the time comes, they’d be bold enough to risk it all by going through the door, whether literally or figuratively. Getting training with live fire, simulations, as well as lectures on the realities and mentality of self-defense is of the utmost importance. No one knows how they’ll react until it happens, not really, but there’s a great deal you can do to be as prepared as possible.
Will You Run, Hide, or Fight?
There are pastors and ranchers who’ve stood and fought and members of law enforcement who’ve run away when shots were fired. Heroes are all around us and may or may not be wearing uniforms. Frequently, there’s no uniform involved, because you are your own first responder. The first people on the scene are civilians who just happen to be present. Are you truly prepared?
Training is a must, and it needs to be maintained because shooting is a perishable skill. If you’re going to carry a gun for self-defense—or even if you’re not—you’d be wise to have a tourniquet. You’re statistically more likely to need a tourniquet, and a first aid kit, than your gun. It might be for a car accident or it could be to help someone who’s been the victim of an armed killer. Whatever the use, get a good tourniquet, learn how to use it, and keep it handy. Not sure how to carry it? Get a belt-mounted holder for it, like the PHLster FlatPack.
You can’t control the four W’s of a violent attack: Why, Where, When, and Who. Being cautious only takes you so far. If you intend to act in defense of yourself or others, you owe it to yourself and those other people to get properly trained. The first rule of a gunfight might be to have a gun, but the second rule should be to get trained with that gun.
Go out. Pay attention. Be smart. Carry every day.
