What to look for?

[steve2267]

Vis-a-vis the recent Omaha mall shooting, but also almost all recent mass shootings in a public setting (Virginia Tech, Tacoma Mall in Washington, Trolley Square in Utah etc)... has anyone insight or information on

How the perp was dressed
How the perp was behaving
What the perp was carrying
etc etcBEFORE the shooting started?

For example, how did the Omaha mall shooter carry his rifle? Was he carrying it openly? Had he concealed it under a coat? In a bag? If so, what kind of bag? Did he just walk in, pull out the rifle and let 'er rip? Or did he wander around the department store a bit looking for the perfect spot from which to start his spree?

In other words, what are a list of things that one should be on the lookout for these days in public places?

Yeah, the person in a heavy, long trenchcoat in July is out of place and should be watched warily (if not outright reported)... but are there other things, perhaps more subtle, that trip people's triggers or twitch your antennae?

[David Williams]

I don't really know how to put it into words...

It's called SA.

[steve2267]

Dave, I understand what you are saying (or not! :) ), and trying to describe SA to someone can be very difficult with the typed word.

My query is twofold... I'm looking for tidbits, morsels, hints, wisdom and experience from those more experienced and wiser than I to hopefully increase my SA.

At the same time... I'm curious how these *ssholes walked into malls with longarms... and no one noticed. Now, Trolley Square in Utah, the shooter apparently started shooting whilst still outside and worked his way inside while still shooting. At Virginia Tech, the shooter used sidearms, so he may not have been so obvious. But I dunno... maybe he entered the main engineering building on campus openly displaying his sidearms and no one noticed! :eek: In this latest incident in Omaha, the shooter apparently waited until he was on the 3rd floor inside a department store before opening up. So I am curious how he carried his rifle inside, and how he acted. These people all had some screws loose... and I'm wondering how those missing screws may have manifested themselves, and if there are any common threads or themes.

[Guantes]

IIRC, the Omaha shooter concealed his long gun in a sweatshirt. He entered the mall, went directly to an elevator and ascended to the third floor and when the elevator door opened he exited and started firing.

[steve2267]

G,

Did he stick it under a sweatshirt he was wearing, or was it more like he wrapped or draped a sweatchirt around / over the rifle and carried it in his hands / arms in some manner?

[Guantes]

As I recall, it was rolled up in the sweatshirt and carried.

[DocH]

It's really hard to be specific in what to look for,sometimes. Any long package or large package or wrap can conceal a long gun.The old guitar case analogy. An AR can be broken down to reduce the length and snapped back together very quickly.Most young people carry back packs of some sort nowadays and I'm always suspicious of those and what may be in them.
I'm a people watcher and often see things that look wrong or out of place.
I suppose constant vigilance is really the only thing we can do to possibly spot these types before they start their melee.

[Brownie]

Steve,

You'll likely never be able to recognize the odd duck who's a potential ticking time bomb in the crowd. You could walk by a 1000 normal "looking" "acting" "dressed" people and not find one of these guys out of place in the least.

Carrying a rifle in a swaeter, no one would notice much at all, especially a short rifle or one with a folder. In a shopping bag during this time of year, you could hide several handguns and a rifle with ammo for all of it. It's going to be hard to spot someone who's creative, even a little as out of the ordinary, etc.

Daves SA suggestion that I don't really know how to put it into words... rings true for me as well. It's hard to translate ones SA, their "feeling" or "sense" of something's potentially wrong, what gives them that feeling at times, what brought that feeling that something doesn't look, act, or appear right thats brought to your attention.

It comes from years of observations of others, their mannerisms, the dress, their overall appearance, their walk, their eyes, and about anything else that sets your bells off that "this one" doesn't look right.

You can't watch everyone, but you ocassionally can pick up on some "things" that don't appear "normal" in your surroundings where others are concerned. You could be watching one and get blindsided by another that opens up. The one that looked out of place by actions or dress, could be no one and the one who starts the scenario could have no indicators.

Learn to control your own environ [ could be extrication from the area or drawing into putting them downrange from behind that water cooler next to you right now ], be ready to react, have plans of escape with the kids and wife [ if they are with you ], or anything in between.

Forethought goes a long way, and that includes knowing where you are in the building, what cover is available, where you can move to or through etc.

[David Williams]

Ok, I'll take a stab at it. I think that developing one's SA (Situational Awareness) is a critical component of self-defense training. Yes, there are other applications (always the .mil/LE parallels) but that's not the focus here. Consequently, most of my comments are going to be directed to the everyday citizen, regardless of whether or not he/she carries.

I believe that it is very rare that a single clue can tip us off as to exactly what is about to happen. True, a rifle barrel sticking out of someone's sleeve is going to be a key indicator - but the truth is that most people don't pay that level of attention to their surroundings. In fact, events have proven that people don't even *really* notice that something is wrong or out of place until later...they usually find themselves saying, "I thought he was acting suspicious, but didn't think much of it". Well...there you go. People usually notice more than they think they do, but most of that information gets discarded rather than processed, only to be vaguely recalled during the after-action.

That said, Situational Awareness is not only about noticing the dead-giveaway clues. Anyone can teach themselves to pay just enough attention to notice the obvious, though the reality is that most people don't bother to do even that.

SA is all about recognizing that your environment continuously gives up clues as to how surrounding situations are developing, being able to process those clues, analyze the patterns, and adjusting your own actions based on those patterns. Simplified, it's the OODA loop.

Most cops will tell you that single clues in and of themselves usually don't amount to much; and not every little event that pings your radar is going to develop into something more. However, it's the ability to subconsciously process events and string them together that allows us to get that jump on when *things don't seem right*. It's how the clues we process relate to each other that provide the real benefit.

The trick is to learn how to subconsciously process information about the environment around you without automatically discarding things that aren't right in front of your nose. People will often pick up on a clue that seems out of place, but they fail to follow up - instead preferring to move on and remain oblivious to the scenarios developing around them. This is how someone with a rifle makes it to the third floor of a crowded mall and has to shoot someone before he gets noticed. I guarantee you that there are some people who noticed something was out of place...but they ignored it.

When I am out and about, I initially scan my entire environment for anything that seems odd or out of place and make sure to take in visual clues and patterns. I register where people are standing, animated gestures and speech patterns if possible, direction of movement, and try to determine what they're paying attention to. Once that initial scan is done, I keep scanning and continue to process how each event unfolds. If a developing pattern happens to trigger my "spidey-senses", then I consciously focus on whatever it is long enough to either adjust my behavior or determine that it was a false alarm.

When we were in Iraq, we would often patrol through crowded streets - which is nerve-racking in itself. However, we learned to process clues given off by the people around us...collectively as well as singularly. Groups of people give off clues just as individuals will...pay close attention and you can sense when a group's collective attitude begins to shift or change.

So, after all of that, hopefully you'll appreciate the short answer I gave before - SA really is difficult to put into words. But, if I had to explain it in a single sentence, I'd have to say that SA is all about pattern recognition.

[DocH]

Good reply,David.

[steve2267]

When I was learning to fly, my instructors taught me how to scan. Pilot's have different scan patterns for instruments, and there are several different methods one can use to visually scan the airspace around the aircraft. It was more than just "look outside the airplane", it was "look there, in this way, then look over here, in the same way, repeat..."

Are there specific methods of visual scanning that result in picking up the most clues / visual data in the least amount of time (i.e. the quickest and most efficient way to scan)?

For example, do you

Initially stare straight ahead for a split second and consciously allow your peripheral vision to pick up movement, which you then use to clue in your next scan step?
Or do you start off your scan by using your ears to clue in on where to look next?
Or do you start straight ahead, then glance left, then right?
Do you start close, sweep all around you (i.e. check everything out to 5yds (say, left to right) then check 5-15 yds (say, right to left) and progressively work your way out?At least one person has described a method where you start close and work your way progressively out on the same visual vector, then shift your search vector left or right a few degrees and then start over. But upon further questioning, the said this was more for detailed searching -- like a spotter or sniper (or hunter) working from a fixed position.

So, to summarize, what visual scanning technique(s) do you find best?

[David Williams]

I tend to clear/scan the immediate area first, then start working my way out - allowing my peripheral vision to pick up context clues that I then decide whether or not to pay close attention to.
I don't get caught up in always scanning left-to-right, though...I just scan.

Also, I think it's important to note that this is a fluid process. I don't want to send the message that you must start scanning in this certain direction, for a specific length of time, and then move on to another area for another specific length of time. It's fluid. If your peripheral vision picks something up that you think is worth looking at, you aren't obligated to finish "clearing" a sector before you acknowledge it.

Imagine driving in your car on a moderately busy highway. Do you constantly focus on the cars next to you or do you allow your peripheral vision to keep track of them once you "ID" them with a good look, then come back around and check them once in a while? Most of your attention should be in the space that you're going to occupy in the next 2-3 seconds, and again on the space that you'll occupy in the next 5-10 seconds, then 10-20.

Watching something develop 10 seconds ahead of you allows you time to adjust your behavior before you find it happening in your immediate space.

Hope that helps - I'm trying to get a very abstract concept across and trying not to be too confusing.

[7677]

SA is about looking for what is out of place and does not fit. The position or location of people and their behavior and/or non-verbal communication are what you are going to pick up on before the event happens. Once you identify something out of place you take a closer look for things that are out of place on that person and concealed weapons.

Most people do not look beyond what is immediately in front of them and miss most unusual behavioral clues. Most criminals are hunters and are going to be tactically situated to be in a position to watch and ambush their prey.

The look on a person's face can be a give away...man on a mission or the thousand yard stare. And/or, he could be sweating when it is cold. They will commonly look around to see who is watching them. I'm sure that the guy in Omaha displayed behavior clues that no one picked up on but that doesn't mean that they were not there. However, there are times when people do not display any warning signs and just start shooting. Or, start shooting before you get a change to look at them and this why you should be aware of your environment and have a plan of action immediately available in your head which includes the closest available cover and escape routes.

I agree with Dave that is hard explain and learn on a forum and this is something you have to learn by doing and actually hunt criminals.

[steve2267]

Here is the security camera footage from the Omaha mall: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjOLlhD1-0E

No long arm was clearly visible when the perp first entered the mall. Then he left, came back, went up the elevator and started shooting. Unknown to me if he left to get the rifle, or if he did have it on him the first time he entered the mall.

As I watch the video, two things I noted... dunno if they are "clues" or not:
The perp appears nervous, unsure of himself
The way he turns around and leaves almost suggests he doesn't want to be thereOf course, there is the baggy clothing too.

[steve2267]

Kinda hard to see on the video, but after reading a Youtube comment... it appears that at 01:00 on the video, when the perp re-enters the mall, you may be able to see a rifle barrel protruding above his right shoulder. Did the perp really re-enter the mall with the rifle slung over his right shoulder? Wow.

[David Williams]

Now, I don't care much for NYT given their unabashed political bias - but here's some clarification for you, if you can make it through the 2 pages of "It's the State's fault"...

NYT Story (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/08/us/08gunman.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5088&en=fb81ba4cf979625f&ex=1354770000&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss)

2nd page, next to last paragraph:
In the first photograph, Mr. Hawkins appears to be unarmed as he enters the Von Maur department store in a black sweatshirt and sneakers. In the second picture, he again enters the store, this time apparently with a weapon tucked under his right arm. In the third photo, he is outside the store’s third-floor elevator with the rifle raised, taking aim.

Like we said before... people don't see what's right in front of them.

[Dave James]

"If your head ain't moving,it mite as well be up your arse"

[JMusic]

I've been at the Cleveland Clinic for the past two weeks and can relate to what is being stated. Left the guns at home but have my LED light and my cane.:D SA is more than just using your eyes. You use your eyes, ears, periphrial senses, sixth sense and your experience or judgement. Many scoff at 6th sense but I tend to trust mine. This happened to me today.

Walking out of a meeting at the Hospital I had to walk about a 1/4 mile to be picket up by my bus. Most of the Hospital is closed so most of the area is dark. About half way through I stopped to use the rest room. I entered and walked up to a urnal that was closest to the a wall. As I turned a guy dressed in baggy cloths walked out of the Handicapped stool and walked by me. He looked at me then at my cane. He continued on and grabbed some tissues at the sink and walked back to the enclosed Handicapped stool from where he came slamming the door. Now needless to say my radar is up. He flushed the toilet and said in a low voice "not yet'.

I decided to leave and my assumptions were that I may meet someone at the door or worse, another may enter before I leave. As I left I pulled the door wide open scanning both sides and walking straight out about 10 ft. As DJ said you have to have your head on a pivot if you are really looking. No one was outside so I continued on.

Now as I walked I was off auto pilot and now I was paying attention. This allowed me to notice what I usually do. As I passed every hallway I scanned a full 180 degrees staying in the center of the hallway. As I walked up to an elevator I stayed back about 10 ft. walking to the center, allowing full vision of the elevator before entering. As I enter bathrooms I walk up to the door open and scan the inside before entering. When I walk into the bathroom I look for a place that gives me two protected sides if possible.

No wonder people think I'm odd.:p

Jim