LAX victim bled for 33 minutes

[SMS]

The TSA employee who died as a result of the LAX shooting lay bleeding for over a half an hour before being carted off to get medical attention.

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2013/11/15/ap-tsa-officer-bled-for-33-minutes-in-lax-shooting/

I am NOT posting this to have it turn into an LEO flame war...I fully understand the primary role of the LEOs in a mass shooting situation. I am posting it in the Preppers section as a case study in the impact an everyday citizen could/should have when it comes to "Self-aid and buddy care".

There are no guarantees, but what if a bystander or fellow TSA employee had stood by him to administer first aid after the shooting stopped? In a crowded airport terminal, resonding police officers shouldn't be relied on to be the first source of medical aid.

Fight back if you are able, and then find one person to help...just one.

 

[KOPBET]

Sad indeed.

 

[lkothe]

What is sad is that out of the huge amount of people who go thru that airport, there is probably a very very low percentage who would have the nads or experience to help someone in that position. I don't know what I'd have done if in the position to help but would like to think I could at least be able to apply pressure to the wound.

 

[SMS]

Yeah, not trying to place blame or pass judgement...just using it to illustrate that everyone who fancies themselves a "prepper" or a "gunfighter" should be just as adept at stopping bleeding as they are at inducing it. Too often we focus on the latter.

I also wonder what would happen if you were in the middle of rendering first aid and authorities started clearing the place out. Would they force you to leave the victim lying there like Mr. Hernandez?

 

[reddog1]

Wussified nation of wusses.

 

[WTJ]

Bled out? Wow. There are too many resources available today to have this be the primary reason for a mortality. That is sad. Bleeder and GSW kits are cheap and universally available.

 

[BadgeBunny]

I've often wondered about if bleeding out has been the cause of at least some fatalities at active shooting scenes because medical personnel don't go in until law enforcement says the scene is secure. I know of at least one accidental shooting where medical personnel here in OKC would not go into a building and render aid because they were under the impression in was an "active" scene. They beat law enforcement to the scene of the shooting but would not enter the building until law enforcement arrived and deemed the site "safe". Thank God there were: 1. People inside the building capable and willing to render aid to the victim; and 2. the woman's wound was not immediately life-threatening ...

It made me take a long, hard look at myself and whether I could run away from a scene, leaving someone I knew was hurt. Having to hunt down victims is one thing -- I'm a civilian and not trained for that. But running by someone screaming for help, or trying but unable to get away under their own power ... Man, I just don't think I could leave them there. I've been called suicidial by some folks because of that ... I don't really think that's it because I sure don't want to get shot ... or to die ... but ... damn ... How many people just ran past that dude while he was still alive??

 

[SoonerP226]

I've been called suicidial by some folks because of that

You're not suicidal, my dear--you're just a better man than most men.

As for myself, I'd like to think that I'd stop and help, but that's such an alien situation for me that I honestly don't know what would happen when the rubber meets the road. If it were a family member, it's a no-brainer, but if it's a stranger, I just don't know...

 

[cmhbob]

Without seeing images from that particular part of the scene, I wonder how bad he looked? I suspect a large number of people in the country are conditioned that shot=dead, so picture a very bloody man lying still on the ground. As you're running to escape/cover/whatever, are you going to spare more than a glance for triage?

I'd like to think that I'd catch that he was breathing, etc., and stop long enough to see what I could do. And once I started rendering aid, you'd be hard-pressed to get me away from the victim.

GC and other officers: I know that active shooter doctrine says run to the sound of the gunfire. But is there policy about what to do if you find someone rendering aid in a situation like this? And even if there's policy, is practice going to be different?

 

[BadgeBunny]

You're not suicidal, my dear--you're just a better man than most men.

As for myself, I'd like to think that I'd stop and help, but that's such an alien situation for me that I honestly don't know what would happen when the rubber meets the road. If it were a family member, it's a no-brainer, but if it's a stranger, I just don't know...

I had a rather unusual upbringing, though. My dad had nerves of steel. The more dire the situation, the calmer and more focused he got. I seem to have inherited that gene from him. (Or at the very least, learned that behavior ... It freaked GC out the first time he saw it in action. Said he though I might be "touched" ... and not in a good way. LOL) I tend to deal with whatever needs to be dealt with and then fall to pieces later, after it's all said and done.

While not gun-fire, I've stepped in front of a charging bull so another person could get away (granted, I was 22 and he was 79) ... still, it could have ended much worse for me than it did. I also went back upstairs towards a burning apartment (again, in my 20s) to make sure some folks got out. They were in the apartment next to mine but somehow didn't hear the commotion ... Go figure ... That's about it for my "life-saving" experiences, if you don't count the time I was very nearly shot by a really mad biker with a grudge ... THAT one I needed a couple of really stiff drinks after ...