Brining a gun to a knife fight (and other practical edged weapons defenses)

http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20120314/US.Columbus.Office.Stabbings/

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A man armed with three knives went on a stabbing spree in a downtown office building injuring four people before he was shot on the street by a police officer.

The rampage Wednesday happened just blocks from the state Capitol. Authorities said one of the injured was an employee of the state attorney general.

The man confronted one victim in the admissions office of Miami-Jacobs Career College before 1 p.m. and stabbed him, Columbus police spokesman Sgt. Rich Weiner said. Other people intervened and took away a knife the man was using but didn't realize he had others, Weiner said.

"We do know that one of the good Samaritans that came to aid the first victim, he was stabbed also," Weiner said.

Four men, including the attacker, were in critical condition after the stabbing spree, authorities said, and a fifth man had minor injuries. Police have identified the victims and the attacker but haven't released their names, Weiner said.

Two of the victims were either students or staff members at the privately run school, Weiner said. Two other victims were outside in the lobby area when they were attacked, he said. All the stabbings occurred on the first floor.

The Columbus Dispatch Wednesday night identified two of the victims as 36-year-old Donte' Dunnagan, a financial-aid assistant at Miami-Jacobs, and 53-year-old Jeffrey Maloon, an assistant attorney general.

The state's attorney general has offices in the 25-story building, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Mike DeWine said. DeWine's office isn't in there, and he wasn't present at the time, spokeswoman Lisa Hackley said.

She said she couldn't provide further details about the victim at the family's request.

DeWine thanked the more than 500 attorney general employees who work in the building for their calm response.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with all who have been affected by this senseless violence," DeWine said in a written statement.

A knife was recovered inside the school, and two knives were found near the attacker outside after he had been shot.

Police would not describe the knives except to say they were bigger than pocket knives.

One officer used a stun gun on the attacker at around the time another officer shot him, Weiner said. Officials don't know whether the stabbing was random or stemmed from an earlier issue, he said.

The attacker had a knife in each hand when he went at officers, said Jim Gilbert, president of the local Fraternal Order of Police.

Multiple shots were fired at the man by the officer who was closest to him, Gilbert said. The officer, who has been on the police force for 15 years, "did what she had to do," Gilbert said.

For more information on the use of firearms to defend against edged weapons check out Wim’s Blog

http://www.wimsblog.com/2012/03/the-tueller-drill-and-self-defense/

Weiner said the officer who shot the attacker was working nearby on a regularly scheduled patrol shift when she got the call and arrived first, followed by numerous other officers.

Columbus officers responded within a minute of 911 calls Wednesday to a "very chaotic scene" with people screaming, Gilbert said.

"Many citizens' lives were saved today because of the quick actions, quick response of the Columbus police officers that responded," he said.

The officer was taken to a hospital with a minor knee injury suffered as she was backing away when the attacker approached her, Gilbert said.

Jason Jackson, who works at Gordon's Gourmet in the building lobby, said he heard that someone had been stabbed, so he ran out of the building. When he went back to see what was happening, he saw the attacker outside.

"He had a knife, and the police had just pulled up, and they're saying, `Sir, you need to stop. You need to just put the knife down.' He wouldn't," said Jackson, of Reynoldsburg. "They drew guns. `Sir, please put the knife down.' And he kind of lunged at them, so they shot him."

What can we learn from this?

Law Enforcement:

Great Job!  Good verbal commands helped generate a witness statement like this…

["He had a knife, and the police had just pulled up, and they're saying, `Sir, you need to stop. You need to just put the knife down.' He wouldn't," said Jackson, of Reynoldsburg. "They drew guns. `Sir, please put the knife down.' And he kind of lunged at them, so they shot him." ]

As opposed to….

Man, they just fucking shot him for no reason.

I am also glad that the Officer didn’t hesitate to use the appropriate level of force when it became necessary.  It would have been tragic if the Officer was stabbed because she hesitated or used lower less effective levels of force.

[ Other people intervened and took away a knife the man was using but didn't realize he had others ]

Guys who like knives like lots of knives.  If you are conducting a search / pat down and find a one knife, keep looking because he probably has more.

Civilians / Good Samaritans:

[ The man confronted one victim in the admissions office of Miami-Jacobs Career College before 1 p.m. and stabbed him, Columbus police spokesman Sgt. Rich Weiner said. Other people intervened and took away a knife the man was using but didn't realize he had others, Weiner said.

"We do know that one of the good Samaritans that came to aid the first victim, he was stabbed also," Weiner said. ]

God bless the people that run toward danger to help others.  I’m sorry that they got hurt.    

There are lots of ways you can help.  If you are going to intervene be tactical.

You can help by calling the Police and providing quality real time intelligence.

You can help by rendering first aid to the injured.

Many, many ways to help without physically engaging the attacker

If you feel the need to respond physically be smart

Don’t try to wrestle a knife away from someone.  Even if you are trained in the most popular bad ass commando system, statistically it’s not likely to end well.

Grab something heavy and hit them with it, preferably from behind.  Repeat as necessary until the attacker is no longer posing a threat. 

STOP when the attacker is no longer posing a threat.  Ground stomping a downed opponent is not self defense (or the defense of another).

Be able to articulate your actions (to do this well you need to practice force articulation on a regular basis)

Food for thought:

I wonder if Rosie O’Donnell and her ilk we use their bully pulpit to demand stricter knife control legislation.

: )

Train hard, Train smart, Be safe