The Department of Homeland Security has released a new instructional video was posted on their website. The video advises people how to protect themselves and on ways to fight back against a gunman.
Just one month after the devastating massacre in Newtown, CT at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the agency released the video. The unorthodox tool the video suggests using is a pair of scissors.
The video says, “If you are caught out in the open and cannot conceal yourself or take cover, you might consider trying to overpower the shooter with whatever means are available.
This message in the video is accompanied by an image of an office worker opening a desk drawer and pulling out a pair of scissors.
The video, “Options for Consideration” also advises people caught in a situation with an active shooter to run away, hide under a desk and/or take cover as far away from the line of fire as possible.
The video lasts for almost four minutes includes scenes from the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre, the 2009 Fort Hood shooting and the 2011 attempted assassination of Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, AZ.
The narrator says, “To protect your hiding place, lock the door if you can. Block the door with heavy furniture.”
The video covers other survival options in the video such as hiding “behind large items such as cabinets or desks.”
“Remain quiet. Silence your cell phone or pager. Even the vibration setting can give away a hiding position.”
Independent Firearm Owners Association president Richard Feldman doesn’t agree with the ideas given in the video. For him, being faced with an armed shooter having a legal firearm is the best option.
“That’s why I prefer a gun, and I usually do carry a gun when it is lawful to do so. Clearly, you use whatever you can to fight for your life.”
A Homeland Security official stated that, “the video is a result of the Obama administration’s ongoing campaign to reduce firearm violence in the wake of the horrific mass murder last month of 20 children and six teachers in Newtown, Conn.
When it comes to the information included in the video, security consultant Andrew Scott described it as “adequate.” The use of scissors against an armed gunman Scott says should be a “last, worst-case scenario.”
Scott said, “Just the suggestion to fight back is a positive move. You don’t want to be sheep for the slaughter.” Scott is a former SWAT commander in North Miami Beach.
The last piece of advice in the video tells people that once the cops arrive to drop any weapon. “Put down any items. Immediately raise your hands.”
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