Suppose I Were at the Pulse Nightclub and an Active Shooter is In My Vicinity--Thinking of the A.L.I.C.E. Method

Yes, there is the "run, hide, fight" technique for surviving active shootings. But there is another type of way to survive such horrible things like what happened in Orlando on June 12, 2016.

It is A.L.I.C.E. The letters in this acronym break down just like this:

A - Alert
L - Locdown
I - Identify
C - Counter
E - Evacuate

I heard about stories about people trying to survive or avoid being shot in the bathroom stall at The Pulse when the shooting rang out. Some decided to wait it out, some hid, at least one played dead. The good news was that since there were a litany of past active shootings in the USA, those in the Pulse did all they could to survive even though the body count was massive--50 dead, but it was better than 300 dead.

So even though the shooting had resulted in high casualties, I think at least there were some patrons at The Pulse who did as much as they could to outsmart the shooter before that shooter could kill or maim a lot, lot more people.

Probably the worst active shooting incident in America - worse than Columbine, worse than Sandy Hook, and worse than the Laurie Dann shooting that killed Nicholas Corwin in the 1980s.

What would I do if I were in the Pulse and decided to hide in the bathroom when the shots fired? Here is what I would do to stay alive.

Assuming a shooter will come in the bathroom to look for people to simply shoot or kill, and learning about the A.L.I.C.E. method I saw on a Youtube video (one method to survive a mass shooting), the way I do the crouching position and closing the bathroom door to the stall would be the L, or "lockdown" (basically hiding). If I hear cocking sounds, I know trouble is coming, that's the "I" (Identify - in this case, the shooter is in my vicinity). If the shooter was an extreme lunatic, he would probably fire through the bathroom stall door; if that is so, I would go down (assuming he will fire more shots) and move under through the privacy wall of the stall because if I just hid there, I would not even stand a chance. So.....

I would have to be absolutely still and quiet, and learning about cover and concealment options in the stall, I assess that I may not have 100 percent protection against bullets. I would have to go up to the toilet with my feet so that way my legs would not give away my location, and I have to crouch myself so that way my head also does not give away my location--because being shot in the head of course, means a quick death for me; being shot in the legs--I will get hurt but at least I may still have a chance to do C (or "counter")--do a forcible entry (push the door towards the shooter) by surprise and go for the shooter's groin,with an elbow strike, and then I do E (or "evacuate"). I may have a better advantage if I hear the clip dropping to the floor--and I could do C ("counter") again and I can do E ("evacuate")...run away before the shooter reloads one's clip to fire again.

 

Playing dead? I would do that as a sort of lockdown and counter (that is L and C) method but to make it seem real, I would have to put stage blood on my back of the neck, and the center of the back, if I have it with me, and put my head into the toilet and be absolutely still. If I do not have stage blood with me, I can use tomato ketchup and smear it in the same locations. I might even smear it on my hands to look like I had been shot multiple times. I would remain absolutely still and wait for the shooter to open the door and feel the butt of the gun of the shooter at my head as the shooter probes to make sure I am dead - and quickly, I would use the new C (counter)--go down and try to trip the shooter's legs to knock him off balance, and make my escape very quickly. 

 

So with that in mind, I may have to do it in the next time I go clubbing to dance--whether it is a salsa party, or a rave party, or a techno party--especially at a large club. So when the "BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG" happens all of a sudden, and even if I do not see the shooter opening fire, I will know what to do--TO STAY ALIVE!!!