This article was originally posted on March 13, 2013 by Greg Ellifritz in Tactical Training Scenarios and was in reference to an article that he posted the previous week concerning the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) using targets depicting children and pregnant women. As the author indicates, the reactions to the article were numerous… here is that article.
Last week’s article about the DHS using targets depicting children and pregnant women got many people thinking. No matter what you think about the government’s target selection, the fact remains that sometimes kids are killers. Have you considered how facing an armed pre-teen attacker my change your self-defense responses?
Take a look at this incident:
Police say Oregon boys, ages 7 and 11, used loaded gun to attempt to carjack, rob woman
Published December 09, 2012 Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. – Two boys, ages 7 and 11, are accused of trying to rob a woman with a loaded gun, police said Sunday.
The boys tried to carjack a 22-year-old woman who was in her family’s truck waiting for her parents in a church parking lot, Portland police said in a statement.
Ami Garrett, of southeast Portland, told officers that when the boys approached her, the younger boy told the older boy to “show her your piece.”
The woman said that when she refused to give them her vehicle, they demanded cash and her phone. She said that as she drove away, she saw the 11-year-old boy pull a gun from his pocket.
The boys were apprehended in the parking lot by officers responding to reports of children with guns. Police said they recovered a loaded .22 caliber handgun from the older boy’s pockets.
Detectives were investigating how the boys obtained a gun. Because of their age, the boys could not be taken into custody at a juvenile detention center, so they were returned to their families, police said.
The 11-year-old tried to escape his parents’ house but was quickly caught by officers and returned to his parents.
Police planned to give the case to the juvenile court.
Would you ever imagine that a seven year old boy would use a loaded gun to car jack a woman in a church parking lot?
While exceedingly rare, incidents like this happen. In my experience, many people (especially mothers), are unprepared to use the required amount of violence to solve the problem if the target of such violence is a child.
Are you prepared to protect yourself from a child predator? Here are some questions to ask yourself:
– If you are confronted by a pre-teen armed with a firearm, would you be more or less likely to shoot than if you were confronted by an adult? If you would be less likely to shoot, what is your plan to deal with such an attack?
– Would you be more likely to attempt a close range gun disarm against a pre-teen or an adult? If yes, have you ever practiced taking a gun away from a resisting attacker?
– Do you believe a juvenile criminal with a gun is less likely to hurt you than an adult with a gun? Is there any legitimate evidence to support your belief?
– What if you were confronted by a pre-teen armed with a knife? Would you shoot the kid? Why or why not?
– Most students of self-defense understand the concept of “disparity of force”. That’s the idea that a larger number of attackers presents a greater danger than a single attacker and generally justifies a more violent response. What would you do if you were confronted by a gang of several 12-13 year old boys who physically attacked you? Would you be able to handle the situation physically or would you have to use a weapon?
– Are there situations you could imagine with juvenile attackers that may be better handled with a less lethal weapon like pepper spray? Do you carry a less lethal weapon for such events?
– Are you mentally prepared to kill a pre-teen criminal who is presenting a deadly force threat? Not everyone is. If you are not, what are your alternative plans?
Don’t just skim over these questions. Your tactical homework this week is to take several minutes to actually come up with thoughtful answers to each of these questions. Doing so may save your life if you are ever looking down the barrel of a gun being held by a 10 year old.