(Orange County Register) Greg Hardesty - When the shooter burst through the door, the students were ready. They jumped over and around tables. They rushed the gunman. They screamed and tossed anything within reach; backpacks, books, pens. In less than five seconds, the would-be killer was on the floor, powerless to carry out his planned massacre. Alon Stivi, 48, a recognized expert on counterterrorism, violence prevention, security, and hand-to-hand combat, has launched a special training program to make students and office workers safer even from the most extreme forms of violence. Since the mid-1960s, 207 people have been in killed in on-campus shootings in the U.S. "With the techniques I teach, you don't have to be a martial artist, a soldier, a policeman or policewoman to protect yourself," Stivi says. "You can be anybody." When the gunman bursts through the doors, the students cowering under tables are sitting ducks. He methodically walks around the room, picking off victims one at a time. Stivi shows how to survive - to act as a group and apply the tactics he terms "collective resistance." "There's strength in numbers," he adds. "You have the element of surprise."
2010-02-19 09:10:56Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive