I am sure that many of you have heard by now about the suicide bomber in
Russia. For those that have not a muslim woman, identified as Naida
Asiyalova, boarded the No. 29 bus in Volgograd. After riding the bus
for several stops she detonated a belt bomb composed of, TNT, improvised
shrapnel (screws, nails pieces of metal) and supposedly a couple of
grenades for good measure. Six people were killed and another 33 were
injured.
As someone that believes in being prepared for anything and everything I
can think of really this is something I can’t think of a way to be
prepared for 100%. Now I don’t live in an area with a bus service and I
drive my own car or truck everywhere I go. However many in the major
metropolitan centers around our country do ride buses everyday. However
as we all know these types of attacks are not restricted to mass
transport, they are targeted in any area that will have a high density
of people to inflict the most amount of damage possible.
Knowing that it is just a matter of time before these attacks start
becoming more common around the world, including our own back yard, it
does make one stop and think. Just what can you do to prepare for such
an attack. The first and most important thing is situation awareness.
Basically keep your eyes open and listen to your gut. Watch for things
that just don’t fit. Look for those people that seem to be nervous or
uneasy. Do you see unusual lumps in their apparel or anything else that
seems off? If you do start to move away and keep your eyes open as it
is a common tactic to set off one explosion to drive a crowd in the
direction of a second explosive. For those that don’t believe this can
happen here remember the Boston Marathon bombing.
In these situations pulling a firearm actually can do more damage than
good. You could possibly hit the bomb or if you don’t it is possible
they have a dead mans switch and you could inadvertently set off the
bomb. Also if you have your weapon pulled when authorities show up you
could be targeted as a possible threat. So if you are concealed
carrying during this type of event keep it holstered and only draw if
you are 100% sure about the threat in front of you and the target and
possible surrounding collateral damage. Remember your duty as a legally
carrying citizen is the safety of yourself, your family and your fellow
citizens. The best thing that you can do is act as first responder,
record any and all details that you can remember, help the injured get
to safety.
There are thoughts that we may see such an attack during the upcoming
Olympic events. Honestly my thoughts are we will see more and more of
these types of attacks. There is a simple explanation for that and it
is that they strike fear in the general populace, they are relatively
inexpensive and can be coordinated by small groups that are virtually
undetectable by security agencies. Whats worse is if we actually saw a
more organized widespread and specifically targeted and timed attack
using these same sorts of tactics.
Even if we do see a marked increase in the number of these types of
attacks they will still be a very small percentage of the daily violence
that happens around our county and indeed the world. This means be
aware however do not be afraid. Remember that being brave does not mean
that you have no fear, it simply means that you control your fear.
Stay safe.
prep4theworst 