Confrontational Types, 5

Continued from "Confrontational Types, 4"

In my original post, "Confrontational Types", I listed the 4 primary types and said, "I might also add a fifth, psychopath." Into this catch-all category, I put stalkers, serial killers & serial rapists (who, if not caught in time, may turn into serial killers), child molesters, what Dan Korem calls random actors (i.e., killers of the Columbine or New Hope variety), and terrorists.

You can think of the serial rapist and serial killer as variations of the true orc. They will generally approach in the same way, try to catch their prey off-guard and ambush him/her. The difference is that these are the ones who will often try to lure or take their victims to a secondary location.

I dealt with the danger of allowing yourself to be taken to a secondary location in "Kidnap Survival Tactic: Do The Opposite". There is one scenario I did not address in that post: what to do if he has a gun.

He points the handgun and says, "Keep quiet and get in the van." From the beginning, you must realize that no matter how frightened you are, your least safe option is to do as he says. He wants to take you away because wherever you are is too close to other people.

Further, he likely does not want to attract attention to himself by discharging a firearm in that place. Therefore, your best tactic is to put distance between yourself and the the orc. Weave back and forth as you run -- it makes you a more difficult target, in case he does decide to fire.

As you run, put cover between you and him (parked cars, utility poles, etc.)Also, the farther away you get, the less likely he will be able to hit you.

At close quarters, a knife can be even more dangerous than a firearm, because he can use it silently, and thus not draw attention to himself. But the knife is effective only out to arm's length. Therefore, distance is once again the best solution. Run like the wind.

If he's close enough to use the knife, I might try an offensive tactic before running away (I'm old, heavy, and I never was a fast runner). A poke to the eyes followed by a half-fist to the throat would probably give me time for a few seconds head-start.

And don't forget that he wants to take you away quietly. As you run, yell or scream for all you're worth.

Of Shootings and Sheepdogs

You have, no doubt, seen or heard about the murder of three people and the wounding of several others in yesterday's attacks on a Youth With A Mission training center and New Life Church in Colorado. In two articles that I've read, the shooter at the first attack was described as wearing a "skull cap" or a "beanie". I'm sure further reports will indicate if there is religious significance to this headgear.

Kudos to the security guard at New Life Church who stopped the killing spree by killing the attacker. I don't know if he is a Christian, but I pray for him as he deals with the aftermath of yesterday's tragedy (perhaps a better word for it is travesty). I hope he gets the right kind of counseling, because he'll have to deal with both the praise and the criticism, and as private security, he won't have the same support network as the police.

An article in the San Francisco Chronicle elicited this incredible criticism in its comments section:

The article mentioned that, at the New Life megachurch, the gunman "...was confronted by an armed church security guard, who shot and killed him." For mercy's sake, what sort "church" needs armed security guards ?! I'm a regular church-goer in a mainline denomination, and I find that to be almost as disturbing as the shooting itself.

What sort of church needs security? The sort where a gunman walks up and starts killing people. And if this blind ideologue thinks her church is immune because it's in a mainline denomination that spouts humanist, antinomian garbage, she should think again. This variety of gunman could strike at any institution he perceives as offensive -- even the milquetoast variety peopled by little old ladies of both sexes.

If you want to understand something about the New Life Church/Columbine/postal rage shootings, you might want to pick up a copy of Dan Korem's Rage of the Random Actor. The author used to be known as a Christian illusionist and sleight-of-hand artist, but now has a reputation in the law enforcement community (including the FBI) as the one who developed the profile for this kind of shooter. It's a different profile from the mugger/rapist/holdup artist.

The title of Korem's book may mislead some, because "random actor" does not mean that the violence or its target is random. The randomness refers to the radical nonconformity common to those who commit such acts. The very essence of the book is to lay out a profile to identify potential "random actors" and to lead them to change. As a bonus, Rage of the Random Actor does not attempt to hide the author's Christian beliefs and convictions.

This book would serve as an upper level text in the Christian Martialist's study of violent behavior. It would also give great insight for Christian counselors to identify and help those unhappy people who have the potential to become shooters. In this day of religious terrorism and anti-Christian sentiment, an ounce of prevention may not be worth a squad of armed guards, but it may help.

Well, it's unlikely that your church or mine is going to hire armed security officers anytime soon. Does that leave your church vulnerable and undefended? If your answer is, "Yes," you need to find your church a sheepdog . . . or become one.