The Waco Biker Shootout: a Study in Common Sense

 

One of my training goal’s for 2015 was to develop a practical, no-nonsense training course for armed civilians involving “Active Shooter” scenarios. Most of the “scripts’ I have laid out for this course are very basic: A man and his family out and about somewhere, like a restaurant or a Mall, and then BOOM! all hell breaks loose and bullets begin to fly. The challenge in preparing your average joe for a situation like this is huge, only because of all the many unpredictable variables involved.

After the Waco Biker Shootout occurred however, and I read about all of the PRIOR WARNINGS that had been issued by Law Enforcement, both to Restaurant management and the public, I quickly realized that this was an example where good ole’ fashioned COMMON SENSE, not tactics or tradecraft, is what most CO’s need to exercise to get through things like this.

AVOIDANCE (or NON-ATTENDANCE) is gonna be your best tool to staying out of hassles like this. Twin Peaks is basically like a Hooters restaurant/bar, not exactly a family “friendly” place to begin with, but, for the single men out there, it is a place you might go to have a beer with friends and watch a game or something. Even still, local Law Enforcement had openly posted multiple warnings to citizens for over TWO MONTHS to avoid the restaurant and general area due to the gradual buildup of known outlaw biker gangs. Twin Peaks also routinely hosted “Bike Nights” to cater to the influx of the biker element, despite several previous warnings from local Law Enforcement about the potential for gang violence. Read that story HERE. 

Also, besides physically avoiding a location, and this is not covered enough in most civilian training classes in my opinion: Just because you are Armed and have some training does not mean You cannot AVOID THE FIGHT! 

John Farnam said it best:

“A superior gunman is best defined as one who uses his superior judgment in order to keep himself out of situations that would require the use of his superior skills.”

It is just not said enough in most civilian firearm training classes, sometimes the best option, if available, is RETREAT! I realize that a large majority of trainers, because of Texas’ Stand your Ground Law and Castle Doctrine, don’t like to discuss this option, most likely because they think they will confuse their students, but in reality it is simple: RETREAT IF POSSIBLE, FIGHT IF YOU MUST! 

Bottom line, in a world where common sense is not so common, STRIVE to always make your training PRACTICAL and REALISTIC, but always, always, use good ole’ fashioned COMMON SENSE FIRST!

Stay Alert, Stay Armed and Stay Dangerous!