28 Apr 99
Some sage observations of the Littleton shooting from several students:
âThe big news story here, of course, is the Columbine High School massacre. The details will be forthcoming for months, and there will continue to be debates if the police response was proper, but at least three lessons are clear to me:
(1) Police response will always be extremely circumspect and after the fact.
(2) Have your gun with you. Make a way to do it. There will be no time for âretrievalâ of your weapon.
(3) Your first shot must hit.â
From another friend:
âI happened to watch an interview last night with the JCSO Deputy Sheriff who was assigned to Columbine High School and who was initially involved in an ambivalent exchange of fire with one of the suspects early on in the incident. He reported that he had taken âabout ten volleysâ of incoming fire (I read that as ten shots ) while crouched behind the front of his Blazer, and that he then returned fire, âfiring four or five shotsâ. He missed obviously, although he thought he might have âbeen close once.â
Of particular interest to me was his comment that, while all this was going on, he âcouldn’t believe it was happening,â and that it was all âcompletely out of control.â One might reasonably conclude that this deputy has never heard of the concept of the warrior spirit or the combat mindset. It’s obvious he was in condition white at the outset, that he basically panicked when fired upon, and performed accordingly. The lesson is that it really doesn’t matter what kind of weapon you carry if your head goes up your ass and stays there.â
Amen, Amen
/John
