Another University Shooting - Florida State

[Mean Green 93-98]

A gunman wounded three Florida State University students, one critically, early Thursday when he opened fire in a library where hundreds of students were studying for exams, authorities said.

Officers confronted the attacker soon after 12:30 a.m. near the entrance to Florida State's Strozier Library in the latest of a string of shootings on U.S. campuses. Police said they ordered him to drop his weapon, then fatally shot him when he fired on them.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/11/20/us-usa-florida-safety-idUSKCN0J40G920141120

[FirefightnRick]

Police said they ordered him to drop his weapon, then fatally shot him when he fired on them

Good.

Rick

[UNT90]

Well, at least the active shooters are more educated?

[oldguystudent]

Well, at least the active shooters are more educated?

I'm genuinely curious about something. When police return fire on a shooter, are they trained to kill or disable? I promise I'm not baiting. I'm really curious.

[FirefightnRick]

They are trained to hit at center mass. In other words, to kill.

Rick

[ChristopherRyanWilkes]

I don't know if their intent is to kill but rather go home to their families that night. So yes, center mass where it is easiest to hit them.

[UNT90]

They are trained to hit at center mass. In other words, to kill.

Rick

Center mass. But not to kill, to stop. Center mass is the most effective way to neutralize a threat.

And in most police shootings, you will see many more rounds fired than rounds that actually strike their target, both from the suspect and from police. The exceptions come with tactical teams who train, train, train to be in that exact situation.

Look at almost any patrol involved shooting and you will see multiple rounds off target if the combatants are separated by more than 6 feet. Hard to handle that huge adrenaline dump, no matter who you are.

Which is why it's so sad to see people race bait on here when police shootings happen. I can promise you, whether a good shoot or a bad shoot, the last thing going through an officers mind when he makes the decision to pull the trigger is race.

Stupid to the inth degree.

Edited November 22, 2014 by UNT90

[Cerebus]

I'm genuinely curious about something. When police return fire on a shooter, are they trained to kill or disable? I promise I'm not baiting. I'm really curious.

Fine motor control is a victim of adrenaline. The only way to combat this is to make the situation not initiate an adrenalin dump. You don't do this by being a police officer and shooting a couple hundred rounds at the range every year. Extremely highly trained special forces soldiers (DEVGRU , 1st SFOD-D, etc) do this by using live ammunition in shooting situations where their own team mates are down range.

Short of that, those movies where people shoot to disable by shooting someone in the knee, hand, etc is just movie magic. Under a highly stressed situation just trying to hit a target center of mass, especially when it is shooting back or trying to knife you, is incredibly difficult.