Disarm and Disable

Active shootings can take a few seconds or last a protracted period of time. Most active shooters seldom use entirely new tactics, but rely on using the tactics from prior cases. The techniques and tactics in this guide utilize my training in the Martial Arts and law enforcement experiences over my career and beyond. It is imperative for those who wish to survive and active shooting to look at potentially dangerous situations and see the reality of the threat, consider the plausible resolutions and then quickly implement the best strategies or tactics to overcome the threat. This publication is meant as a companion to my book “Shots Fired: Surviving an Active Shooter/Assailant.” “Disarm and Disable” is not only a philosophy, but a strategy in dealing with any active shooter. The defender (whether armed or unarmed) should immediately recognize the deadly threat whenever shots are fired or an active shooter appears, and take the required steps to either escape from the immediate area, or if escape is not possible and when/if the opportunity arises to ambush the shooter, disarm and disable him/her expeditiously saving their own life and possibly the lives of others.

This guide has three main purposes: to provide some of the essential material addressed in my previous book; to highlight some of the most significant Active shooting cases that have transpired since the initial book was published; and to offer enhanced tactics and techniques to counterattack active shooters. I have also provided applicable photographs to bring clarity to the various positional firearm disarming and ambush strategies and techniques.

The most significant Active shootings cases are: A sniper style shooting at the Mandalay Bay Concert in Las Vegas, Nevada that occurred on October 1, 2017. The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High school shooting in Parkland, Florida that occurred on February 14, 2018. A restaurant shooting at The Waffle House in Antioch, Tennessee that occurred on April 22, 2018. The Henry Platt Company workplace shooting in Aurora, Illinois that occurred on February 15, 2019. Shootings that occurred at two different Mosque locations carried out by the same shooter in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand that occurred onMarch 15, 2019. The Tram Utrecht, Netherlands shooting that occurred on March 18, 2019. The Virginia Beach, Virginiaworkplace shooting that occurred on May 31, 2019. The Gilroy Garlic Festival shooting in Gilroy, California that occurred on July 28, 2019. The El Paso, Texas Wal-Mart shooting that occurred on August 3, 2019. The Dayton, Ohio Oregon district shooting that occurred on August 4, 2019. The West Freeway Church of Christ shooting in White Settlement, Texas that occurred on December 29, 2019. The Greyhound bus shooting while the bus was in transit from Los Angeles, California that occurred on February 3, 2020 and the Suatham Phithak Military Camp and Terminal 21 Mall shootings in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand that occurred on February 8, 2020.

In the 1950s, school children were taught to hide under their desks from the possible fallout of a nuclear bomb blast. In the 1980s, school children were taught to hide under their desks from the threat of an earthquake or tornado. And in contemporary times, school children are being taught to hide under their own desks from an active shooter. Children as well as adults have been using school classroom desks, office furniture and hiding inside closets as the primary means of defense against an active shooter when other viable means of defense are available.

Most trainers who teach active shooter defense refer to run, hide, fight but will intentionally gloss over the “fight” portion and provide little to no specific detail. If anything is mentioned, it is usually stated that victims should pick up a heavy object and throw it towards the person armed with a handgun, long gun, or edged weapon.

Since my initial publication, Shots Fired, was released, I have conducted numerous training courses and have met many people who were mandated to attend their company active shooter defense training classes taught by some other entity. Virtually all attendees from training classes provided by other vendors have yet to report that they were never taught how to properly ambush the shooters or properly disarm the shooters of their weapons.

Rather than parrot the phrase run, hide, fight, I now use the concept of run, hide, ambush! I teach students in my classes what law enforcement officers would do if they were in a similar situation whether armed or unarmed. Officers would not hide under furniture or inside a closet. We would decide on a physical course of action to ambush the shooter to disarm and disable him/her when the situation presents itself.

Quite a number of active shooters are armed with more than one weapon which could be a threat to your life and possibly the lives of others. Therefore, merely disarming the active shooter of the firearm they are using may not be sufficient to stop the shooter’s rampage. Should the shooter charge or attempt to physically retrieve their firearm, or reach for a second deadly weapon, you may need to use deadly force and shoot the person with his/her own firearm. If you are legally carrying a concealed handgun, you may elect to use your handgun rather than the shooter’s firearm. Besides, you know your handgun is operational 100 percent of the time. If there is more than one defender, the second defender may place the disarmed shooter into a carotid control hold where the shooter would be rendered unconscious, thereby disabling the shooter.