Further thoughts on Hunting down the BG
I want to preface this whole post with an apology: I see your points, and don't wish to come off sounding brash. I only wish to provide you further food for thought. Any antagonism in this post is NOT personally directed, but rather to provide meat on the bones of my arguments. That said: bon apetit!
>I don't know about you guys, but on my little campus, if I were armed and there was a shooting, I would go looking for the suspect. Maybe that is a bad idea and maybe you can convince me otherwise,
Huhh. Depending on the size of campus, going "hunting" may or may not be a bad idea. At my high school, there were perhaps 80 rooms and 150 or so cubbyholes/bathrooms/closets and such. Each of these places would make hideouts for BGs. Each of these has to be cleared in turn, and systematically, making sure that no BGs are let into the areas already cleared. That would be impossible for 5 people much less one. Obviously, in a 3-4 room schoolhouse, Happy Hunting.
>Sure I would be able to keep my class of 20 or 30 safe, but what about the rest of the kids who are out there dying while I sit tight?
Unfortunately, if the SHTF, kids are already dead. You, as a teacher, have an obligation to yourself and your students to protect those who are directly under your control. Hey, if you can manage to corral 100's of innocents behind you in a lunch room, or can consolidate classrooms, using that firearm as a barrier between you and the BGs, you are in even better shape. But leaving the 30 or so kids undefended could have potentially catastrophic consequences. I know that you wouldn't want to bear the thought of those consequences. Ultimately, we cannot defend everyone, despite our 100% desire to do so. We can only use those tools in our posession as a force multiplier and hope for the best.
>From my understand of post Columbine tactics is that the cops waiting and developing a game plan cost several lives.
I would hope that all police forces now have that game plan ready. Columbine took most folks by surprise. If you are an LEO and you department doesn't already have an effective plan for a Beslan or a Columbine, as your bosses why. If you, as a citizen have concerns, contact the PD in your area and ask them about their plans. Make sure they are in place, and if they aren't, then work to toss out the person in charge of those plans.
>In fact an officer did exchange shots with the suspects right away if I recall correctly. Then he waited for back up and the murderers went about most of their killing. I have heard that now officers are trained not to wait, but as you arrive, you go hunting in the hopes of saving as many lives as possible.
I have been lurking here for a few months now, reading and absorbing. I am willing to offer the following observations regarding LEO vs. CCW holders in this situation: While the CCW is typically a very qualified shot, they lack three things that LEO's have at their disposal: Numbers of bodies, More Ammo, and Radios to coordinate both of these items.
Now, I am sure that some of y'all carry 2 clips, maybe some 4 clips, but how many teachers are gonna carry 100 or more rounds of ammo on their person day after day after day? How about night vision goggles for the basement after the lights are cut out? How about the radios? How many geometry teachers have radios that will coordinate with LEAs? Are they on the correct freq? Leaving aside experience you may have clearing rooms, what happens when you do so and run into a LEO doing the same thing? Will you get shot? I hope not.
And ultimately, you are just YOU. Against how many assailants? Might be two, might be three, might be 35 or 40 (like Beslan). How well do you do against 40 fortified shooters with your daily carry? When the calvary gets there, they will bring 20, 30, maybe 40 people to deal with the event. They will have lots of ammo, and then they will call in more reinforcements with even more. And they will all have rifles, radios, and body armor. All things that teachers don't normally carry, and realistically can't be expected to carry day after day.
Don't get me wrong: if you have a shot, take the shot. I would. But if you dont' ahve a shot, don't beat yourself up. Stop, think about the situation, think about those 30 lives behind you and how they rely on you for protection, and make the appropriate decision, whichever decision that may be.
>Of course if I were to go hunting, I would be on my cell phone to the local police with a discription of me and what I am up to. The last thing I want to do is get shot by a responding officer.
Again, you still stand a good chance of getting shot. Our LEO's are trained well. Highly trained here in Portland. But they kinda act reflexively if they find a gun pointing at them, for understandable reasons. That, and you must remember that BGs look like you and me. In an unknown assailant situation, anyone with a gun is gonna look mighty suspicious to a young cop who is trying to make out shirt colors and ages through a gasmask and the swirl of cs gas.
>If all teachers were armed, I think the sit tight plan would work. If not, every second you sit in your class could be one more life lost.
Sorry, friend, but I have to agree. Every second is another life lost. But we are already the loser in this situation at that moment. No doubt about it. The key thing is to protect *what you can*. If thats a lab room with 3 students, then solidly protect them. if you can move next door and extend that protection over 100 more, then do so.
>If all I were concerned about in these cases was saving my own butt, I would just flee the area or lock myself in a closet. If I am going to carry, it is so I can protect as many students as possible. If I die in the process, then it was my time to go.
I agree with all the above statements. However, if YOU die, and the kids in your charge are left unprotected, then you have failed in your duty.
>Sorry, I just don't agree with this notion of sitting tight. I don't see any difference between being unarmed and listening to students die and being armed and listening to students die.
The difference is made by the 30 students behind you that are scared out of their wits. They will not die. You won't let that happen.
>The last thing I am going to do is wait for them to come get me.
If you are armed, in a semi-defensible position, you will have the advantage. They can come get you, but they won't succeed in their mission. Think about their state at this point in the confrontation: They will be deafened due to gunfire, they will NOT expect that you have a firearm (Concealed carry is concealed after all), so will be more lax than otherwise. They will be walking into a hastily prepared, but surviveable position. You will hear them coming. They will not hear you.
