In a majority of self defense incidents where a gun is used to defend a person, the gun is used without having to fire it. This is the best case scenario as it limits the overall risk to the defender. But in some of these cases, the bullets do start flying. Once that happens, the risk to the defender becomes extreme.
Two weeks ago in Seattle, a father of 2 was forced into this position. Returning home with his wife and children, a 30 year old man was accosted by two armed bad guys who pointed guns at him. Drawing his own gun he fired at the attackers who fired back. According to the good guy, he moved away from his family while the shooting was happening to draw the attack away from his wife and children. He ended up with 3 bullets in his legs and foot. He applied a tourniquet to one of his legs while waiting for police and ambulance.
He survived the shooting, and the two bad guys escaped and have not been found. Our good guy demonstrated not just bravery but also preparation by having the ability to think and act in the middle of a dynamic critical incident as well as to help himself survive after the shooting stopped. He is certainly a hero to his family.
His story demonstrates to us that while it is a great advantage to be armed when attacked, these are highly dangerous encounters and our training should reflect that. I cannot recommend enough that you not only train on how to use your gun defensively, but to also learn how to treat life threatening bleeds and carry the tools to treat them. A good place to start with this training is StopTheBleed.org.
This man’s wife and kids not only can thank him for being prepared to act, but also prepared to survive.
