Tuesday, June 17, 2025

"What Do I Do When Someone is Shooting At Me?"

 

That's the title of a lengthy article by Marc MacYoung, a well-known self-defense and street-smarts instructor.  He offers ways to analyze a situation and assess the real risks it entails, rather than merely react in a knee-jerk fashion to events you don't understand.  Here's an excerpt.


I came up with a list of the six most common results when someone IS trying to kill you. They are:

1) You die

2) You spend a long time in the hospital

3) Someone runs away (usually you)

4) You shoot back (often prompting the other person to retreat)

5) You retaliate with such ferocity the other person is injured, killed or runs away

6) Someone else intervenes resulting in some combination of 1-5. 

If those weren't the results, then the person WASN'T trying to kill you -- no matter WHAT you want to believe or tell others.

In a similar vein, just because someone is waving a gun, that isn't the same as them shooting. And– in a bit you'll see why this is important– just because you're in an area where someone is shooting doesn't necessarily mean they're shooting at you specifically.

If there's a gun spitting lead, it's safe to assume the person is trying to kill. The question is "Who?" If not you then someone else. People intending to kill you usually don't stop until 

a) they've succeeded, 

b) they believe they have succeeded or 

c) the danger to them becomes too great to continue. 

The importance of that is simple: People who are trying to kill someone else don't really care about you unless you get in their way. Someone who is trying to kill you specifically will be more dedicated to that task than someone intent on killing someone else or anybody in the area. This strongly effects what your options are.

That is why you must look at what happens before it becomes physical -- even with weapons. Because what is going on before the weapon is drawn and what occurs while the weapon is displayed is critical for assessing what is the best course of action for you.


There's much more at the link.  Highly recommended reading.

Mr. MacYoung is well qualified to talk about the overall environment of crime and violence "on the street", as opposed to in textbooks.  He goes well beyond the "how to use a gun to defend yourself" perspective, and discusses whether or not you should use a gun at all, and how using one may get you into more trouble than refraining.  He also points out that if you don't understand the situation, you're much more likely to make a mistake that lands you in trouble with the law rather than your adversaries.  Best of all, of course, is not to be in an area where you're exposed to trouble of that sort.

As another well-known instructor, John Farnam, has said (and we've repeatedly quoted in these pages):


The best way to handle any potentially injurious encounter is: Don’t be there. Arrange to be somewhere else. Don’t go to stupid places. Don’t associate with stupid people. Don’t do stupid things. This is the advice I give to all students of defensive firearms. Winning a gunfight, or any other potentially injurious encounter, is financially and emotionally burdensome. The aftermath will become your full-time job for weeks or months afterward, and you will quickly grow weary of writing checks to lawyer(s). It is, of course, better than being dead or suffering a permanently disfiguring or disabling injury, but the “penalty” for successfully fighting for your life is still formidable.

Crowds of any kind, particularly those with an agenda, such as political rallies, demonstrations, picket lines, etc are good examples of “stupid places.” Any crowd with a high collective energy level harbors potential catastrophe. To a lesser degree, bank buildings, hospital emergency rooms, airports, government buildings, and bars (particularly crowded ones) fall into the same category. All should be avoided. When they can’t be avoided, we should make it a practice to spend only the minimum time necessary there and then quickly get out.

“A superior gunman is best defined as one who uses his superior judgment in order to keep himself out of situations that would require the use of his superior skills.”


Wise words, particularly in our cities where demonstrations and riots are becoming a daily event.  An unarmed, apparently non-violent protester has already been shot dead through being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Let's not follow his tragic example.

Peter


8 comments:

Anonymous said...

yup. the best thing to do is be somewhere else.
when I was a much younger man , I made a few dumb ass mistakes like above. I have learned it best to never be in those spots/areas where dumb shit can happen.
even with a "legal" shooting, it going to cost you money and time that you will never get back. so, save yourself a lot of skull sweat and never get in that kind of jam. as my Dad used to say "think, boy, before you do anything"
I hate writing checks to lawyers. done that way too many times in the past.

Anonymous said...

One site reported that the Army parade was a failure because not many people showed up. When I read that I wondered how many people didn't show up because crowds are becoming death traps.

Amahl_Shukup said...

I don't know if anyone here remembers Ol' Remus at the Woodpile Report, but his #1 Rule of Survival was: Avoid Crowds. I have been practicing that ever since. There is not one single "demonstration" or "protest" that needs my presence. None.

McChuck said...

Just because the assailant isn't deliberately targeting you, doesn't mean you won't get shot.

Aesop said...

" An unarmed, apparently non-violent protester has already been shot dead through being in the wrong place at the wrong time. "

So, it apparently turns out that "non-violent" protests, aren't.

So, if this is news to anyone, maybe write that bit of wisdom on your palm in Sharpie, lest you forget.

Old NFO said...

Yep, I remember Remus, and don't be there IS a great rule!

Anonymous said...

Little Bill “you sir are a cowardly son of a bitch! You just shot an unarmed man”
William Munny “well he should have armed himself”...........

Anonymous said...

I miss ol' Remus