On Wednesday morning, a shooting was reported at the UCLA campus. Campus and Los Angeles police responded and determined that two persons were dead as a result of a murder-suicide.
Emergency measures were taken immediately and faculty and students were advised to stay indoors when news of a gunman on campus broke out.
Experts in self defense advise more people should learn the steps to defend themselves if ever in a situation where you are either confronted by, or near a gunman.
“Take a deep breath, think about what you’re going to do first, then act,” said Kyle Vickers, an instructor with Premier Martial Arts in Lubbock. “If someone is pointing a gun at you, stay calm. Focus, and know your surrounding. If you know your surrounding, you know exactly what escape route you need to go to and as fastest you can to get to that.”
He also adds that if you are being followed by gunman, a common misconception is to run in a zig-zag motion. He says that’s not necessarily the best idea.
“That’s not how it’s going to work because if you go to a shooting range and you look at everyone at the shooting range, they’re shooting a still targets. They’re not shooting at any moving target. So the best thing to do, is turn around, find cover and don’t run zig-zag, because they might have a possibility of shooting you there.”
John Lyles, the owner of Premier Martial Arts, says the first mistake people often make when encountered by a gunman is letting the nerves take over them to the point that they either freeze, or make the wrong next move.
“I now it’s going to be a tough situation to do but the more calm that you are the easier it’s going to be to defend yourself. what you don’t want to do is go in such a hurry that you actually miss your objective of trying to defend yourself,” said Lyles.
He suggests first assessing what it is the gunman wants. If all they want are your belongings, such as your keys, Lyles suggests tossing them to the side and running away in the other direction.
If you realize that they are either wanting to harm or kidnap you, then Lyles advises taking action and fighting back by shoving the gun being pointed at you up into the air, then down, pounding it into the gunman’s chest. From there, shove the pistol down and bring it back up to you, pointing it in their direction. The weapon then becomes yours.
Whether your ultimate decision is to fight or flee, Lyles says it’s most important to not give up.
“Realize that’s the biggest thing is the nerves and to realize that if you are shot, you are not necessarily going to die from that shot and to be able to keep going,” said Lyles. “If you’re shot, or if you’re stabbed you can still defend yourself and you can still get away.”