The Daily Mirror
American gun rights activists have reenacted the Charlie Hebdo shootings, in an effort to show such devastating bloodshed could have been spared if one of the magazine's staff had been armed.
The bizarre exercise, organised by The Truth About Guns, saw volunteers play the part of staff at the satirical publication which was targeted by Islamic extremists Said and Cherif Kouachi on January 7.
But in the reenactment one of the staff was given a paint ball gun, which they were instructed to use when "extremely well trained attackers" - also armed with paint ball guns - burst in on the set up.
The exercise was carried out nine times, but the armed "staff member" was never successful in overpowering both attackers.
Now, let's listen to Nick Leghorn spin the whole thing in their favor all the while claiming to represent the truth in The Truth About Guns.
I can't believe he actually said "if we could save just one life." When gun control folks use that one it's mocked mercilessly.
What a despicable spin doctor. The victims at Charlie Hebdo were just as prepared for an attack as the players in his reenactment scenario were.
"The gunmen burst into the meeting room and called out Charb's name to target him before opening fire. The shooting lasted five to ten minutes. The gunmen aimed at the journalists' heads and killed them execution-style.[49][50] During the gunfire, Rey survived uninjured by hiding under a desk, from where she witnessed the murders of Wolinksi and Cabu.[51] Léger also survived by hiding under a desk as the gunmen entered."
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Hebdo_shooting
If this is accurate, the experiment they conducted doesn't match up with real events. Five to ten minutes is a long time, and who can say what would have happened if someone there had been armed?
Sounds like someone should have done their homework.
Much of this actually not relevant at all.
DeleteShootouts are, by and large, unpredictable events. This is true even when you create a scenario where the (evil) shooters are clearly identifiable AND the (good) shooter(s) know that an attack is coming AND the (good) shooter(s) are properly trained in the use of firearms and tactics.
Much of this goes out the window when the shooting actually starts. Why? Because you have to first assess your situation and maintain constant awareness; second, you have to quickly ID the people in the space around you; and third, you have to distinguish between the bystanders, the (evil) shooter(s), and any other shooter(s) you come across. In the case of the mock Hebdo scenario, even without the unpredictability of other (good) shooter(s), your DGU in this scenario most certainly fails because points 1 and 2 alone inflict a stress that people who've never been in an actual shootout (in any capacity) never truly know.
All of this, and that is when you know that something is going to happen.
Take that same Hebdo scenario and add the element of surprise - where you don't know something like this is going to happen AND you have no idea how many shooters are in the building AND you have no idea who they are or why they are shooting or who they are looking for.
So, take all three tenets above. ID your shooter(s). Are they criminals coming to kill (or have already killed and are using your office as a means of confusing the authorities)? Are they the authorities that the criminals are running from? Are they non-combatants or people otherwise uninvolved with the actual shootings? Are they people who overpowered the original gunmen and are doing as you are, looking for any other shooters?
All of that has to be answered before your first shot can really be fired, and the TTAG staging of the scenario doesn't even begin to address any of it.
And in spite of that, the TTAG scenario proved disappointing. Fascinating.
DeleteThe TTAG scenario seems to be someone breaking in and spraying the room. Using full auto, takes about a minute to go through two magazines.
DeleteThem taking so long makes me wonder if they were trying to turn it into some elaborate ceremony, maybe some video will surface eventually.
Its not unusual to read about a permit holder who drops an armed miscreant after it becomes apparent they aren't satisfied with as The Steve Miller Band sings, take the money and run.