MURDER IN PUBLIC PLACES

If somebody walks in and starts shooting, it‟s not the time to hide under tables. So few people risk trying to escape because of paralyzing fear.

We train our police officers to deal with fear by channeling it into reaction decisions. Planning and decisions about how to survive a killer don‟t guarantee anything, except better odds than everyone around you.

—JERRY SANDERS, CHIEF OF POLICE, SAN DIEGO

As with any explosive and violent crime, a mass murder scene demands two basic abilities to give you a better chance of survival:

1. Intense concentration on escape. This enables survivors to block out everything unimportant at that instant— fear, pain, confusion—and channel their mind and body to one survival aim: escape. That kind of concentration begins with an attitude of willingness to take extreme risks during extreme danger.

2. Most survivors are those whose reaction time is measured in split seconds. That begins with survival decisions made ahead of time. Keep your response immediate, direct, and explosive.

At four in the afternoon on July 18, 1984, James Huberty walked into the McDonald‟s in San Ysidro, California, carrying three high-power semiautomatic guns. Almost immediately he began shooting people at random. Families cowered under tables, parents tried to protect their children, fear paralyzed everyone. He reloaded all three weapons two separate times and prowled the room, finishing off anyone he found still alive. He fired over 250 rounds at police and citizens until a SWAT sniper on a nearby rooftop finally took him out with one round to the 10-ring (center of the chest). He had killed twenty-one and wounded nineteen.

Never before in U.S. history had there been a mass murder of that magnitude. At that time, Jerry Sanders (my former partner and now chief of police of San Diego) was the commanding officer of SWAT and the officer in charge. In Jerry‟s words, “That crime scene changed me more than any I have experienced. That massacre helped me to understand more fully the value of playing out in my mind what I plan to do if the worst goes down, not only planning for when I‟m on duty, but for when I‟m off duty too, with my family. It‟s the most important step you can take to stay alive. Now I‟m never mentally off duty. If the shooting ever starts, your reactions must be instantaneous and subconscious.”

Whether you create a diversion, throw something through a window, or just jump through it, do it immediately and don‟t let anything stop you. Getting cut up going through a window is rather minor, compared to the alternative. It‟s a matter of priorities - getting hurt and cut up versus getting killed.

in 1991, in Killeen, Texas, another massacre, almost identical to that at McDonald‟s, occurred in Luby‟s Cafeteria: A lone, heavily armed gunman entered the restaurant. (In San Ysidro, he walked in; in Killeen, he drove his pickup truck through the windows into the main dining room.) The killer began shooting diners without warning, selecting victims at random.

My friend Al Morris and two other officers of the Killeen Police Department entered Luby‟s under fire and shot the frenzied gunman; twenty-three people were dead.

The one difference between the Killeen massacre and the San Ysidro one was a simple, heroic act by one man, Tommy Vaughn.

Vaughn was having lunch with friends in Luby‟s main dining room when the truck drove through the window and the gunman started shooting. Immediately, Vaughn picked up his table and attempted to heave it through the plate-glass window. The table bounced off—the window held. Without hesitating, he charged the window and shattered the glass with his body. Although he was badly cut, he escaped. Immediate reaction and leadership saved his life and that of those who followed him.

Vaughn overcame the paralyzing fear that enveloped everyone else in the room and survived. For all of us, the survival equalizer, the odds reducer, is not size, gender, age, or type of gun. It‟s our immediate reaction that counts most.

Rhonda’s Story

December of 1980. I was working at Bob‟s Big Boy on La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles. It was around closing time, 3 A.M. The first thing I noticed was their dress— casual, very nice. Suddenly, they both pushed into the area behind the counter and forced the manager to stay there.

Then I noticed the gun. I was filling salt shakers at the front of the restaurant. “This is a jack,” the one with the gun said. Later I learned that means a “holdup.” It wasn‟t difficult to figure out with a gun pointed at me.

They forced all nine of us, seven staff and two customers, through the kitchen into the back of the restaurant. “Please don‟t hurt us,” we pleaded over and over.

him out because he didn‟t understand the gunman‟s slang. We had to drag him with us; they hit him so hard and so often he couldn‟t move.

Then they herded us all into the walk-in freezer and robbed our jewelry, our tips, whatever we had. One kept saying, “We‟re not going to kill you. We‟re not going to kill you. Just do what we say.” All of us were praying. We all had our own backgrounds and religions, but we all prayed out loud, together. Ditas the waitress was doing her rosary. She had the beads clutched in her hands when she was killed.

They ordered us to get to the back of the freezer. I was shaking so badly, not from the cold, but from terror. They said, “Lie down on the floor.” The cashier was already unconscious on the floor, or maybe dead from the beating. We couldn‟t tell and that only contributed to our panic.

We were lying on each other in the freezer. To put everything into a time perspective, only about a minute and a half, maybe two, had passed since they entered the restaurant. They sure were organized when they barged in, getting behind the registers, herding all of us into the freezer. But then they acted like they didn‟t know what to do next, now with us in the freezer. They stepped out and we prayed again. I‟ve always believed at first they didn‟t have any intention of shooting us—that it was just a last-minute decision.

The freezer door opened. 1 heard the first gunshot. For an instant I remember thinking, “This isn‟t possible.” Then I heard a moan. I remember reasoning, “They have everything, we can‟t do anything else for them. Why would we be shot?” So the first shot—I couldn‟t believe it, shooting us. No!

My hair was in an Afro and I felt the bullets pass through my hair. The first volley of shots didn‟t last long, probably just seconds. They left the freezer. The door shuts automatically. I remember just being frozen stiff. Nobody moved, no one talked. We were paralyzed with fear. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion—that slow-motion feeling was weird.

They came back in. Ditas, already shot and bleeding, began to stand and said, “Oh, no, please. We won‟t say anything. Just leave us. Just leave. We won‟t say anything.” They shot her again. Her body actually flew back against me. 1 still have nightmares of her body against me, her blood pouring onto me. But her body was my protection. Then our chef was shot in the neck, in front of my head. I remember his body vibrating against me when he died. Others were being shot, too, but they were a few inches away from me.

I have purposely not thought about this for so long— the screams, broken only with moans, dying moans. Ditas was still against me. I could feel and hear her breathing. Then she moaned a little and died quietly. I thought, “She just had a baby. Who will care for her baby?” I remember hearing the drip drip of the blood trickling down the drain in the middle of the floor. I was breathing so hard, but trying not to breathe. I was unable to control my breathing or urine. I let my body go. At that point I faked death. It was odd; in my mind my funeral passed in front of me.

Just as they left, one of them said, “Wait! She‟s not dead.” I knew it was me they were talking about. “Let‟s get out of here now,” the other one yelled. The door slammed.

We listened—didn‟t hear anything outside. Then the manager said, “Rhonda, you‟re alive?” “Yes!” “Rhonda, am I shot?” I moved enough so I could see him—my God, his eye was completely blown out. He kept asking, “Am I shot? Am I shot?” I told him, “No, you‟re not shot.” I don‟t know why I said that, I just did. I pushed Evelyn‟s body off me and gave myself a once-over. The manager said, “We‟ve got to help these people.” He still didn‟t realize he was shot and that his eye was missing. Four people were dead. Four more wounded. I was the only one not shot. Bryan (Rhonda’s husband)

It took Rhonda years to work through this. Obviously, people are forever changed after something like that. For a long time she felt uncomfortable going into any kind of restaurant, grocery store, market, especially one with lots of people in it. Even now, we kind of case the place, especially convenience stores, gas stations. We kind of check it

out before we get out of the car. We even look for escape routes, just like I‟ve learned cops do. At first 1 felt a little paranoid; later it just became a habit. Rhonda‟s experience has definitely made us stronger.

I know a few cops and I‟ve heard them say that it becomes an unconscious habit, planning to survive something. We never pull up and say, “Just in case this place gets robbed, you go ahead and take off.” We never discuss that stuff now. We discussed it enough in the beginning that now it‟s just an unspoken thing between us.

Rhonda

I cared for the people I worked with. I couldn‟t just think of number one and the hell with anybody else. But if I hadn‟t known anyone, jumping through a window, going through an exit door—it would have been easier and it would have saved some lives. But the connections with friends stop you from leaving to save yourself. Without connections I could have escaped. I know that now. They had less control initially because everyone was spread out. Plus they had too many distractions. But once we were in the freezer, there was nowhere to go. Nothing we could do when they started shooting. We were at their mercy.

I‟ve thought about this over and over in my mind. I‟m positive the situation would have been different if there had been some kind of training for something like this, training beyond customer service. Maybe someone would have gotten away. Maybe that would have panicked the gunmen.

I was way off mentally. I thought, “I‟ll be safer if I just cooperate.” Following them like sheep gave them more and more control. Those first few seconds, we had the best chances. No doubt about it in my mind.

Bryan and I have changed so much—sitting with our backs to the walls, knowing where the exits are, looking at people when they come in, sitting in the back of a restaurant, like cops. It will give us an extra second or two. Bryan and 1 feel our best defense is not weapons, it‟s our talking and planning that will make the difference for us, give us a better chance than the people around us who probably haven‟t talked about it. We know if we have to run for it, Bryan has this kid and I‟ve got that one. It‟s not a guarantee, but it‟s a better chance.

For the Record

The two men were apprehended. Both had criminal records. They were convicted for numerous crimes, including the murders in the freezer, and given life sentences. (At that time in California, the California Supreme Court would not permit death sentences to be carried out.) The two convicted murderers continue to appeal to this day.

Do What I Tell You Or I Kill Her!

As Rhonda pointed out, criminals control victims by threatening their friends and colleagues. “Connections” stop everyone from concentrating on escape and taking action. I remember a serial rapist we had of over forty victims; he frequently controlled two or more at once with a knife by threatening to kill the one he was raping. The others were forced to watch, horrified and completely under his control.

At most crime scenes, people are paralyzed with fear over what will happen to them and others. Lives are lost because no one makes that first explosive move. No one shouts survival orders. I‟ve been at the scenes and heard the laments of survivors: “If only I had...”

When mind-setting against crime, include scenarios and decisions that place you in a leadership role at the time of exploding violence. If it happens when your family and friends are with you, your leadership may save lives. WHEN FRIENDS ARE WITH YOU

In a span of eleven months, starting in September 1990, a series of seven rapes were reported in a total of nine related attacks. The rapist‟s MO was to strike in the early-morning hours at a particularly quiet beach area in San Diego. He selected two or more victims at a time, with two exceptions.

These cases present a classic story of how easily an experienced criminal can control innocent people through threats of violence against their friends and loved ones. And, the tragic consequences of allowing him to control everyone, versus the outcome when people resist. I‟ve elaborated on two of the nine cases.

Case #1. September 15, 1990, 2 A.M. An armed intrusion in the affluent beach community of La Jolla, California. The intruder wore a ski mask, pointed his weapon at a woman who was alone, controlled and raped her.

Case #2. June 15, 1991, early morning. A man and a woman on the beach confronted by a man with a gun wearing a ski mask. While her male companion returned to his vehicle for his wallet, as ordered, the woman was raped at gunpoint.

out-of-character things. . . like returning to the car for a wallet.

Note: Nine months passed between the first and second cases. Though not common, this is not unheard of either. Most criminals become more active and more dangerous as their crime career progresses.

Case #3. July 4, 1991. Barry and Kathy’s Story

BARRY: Kathy and I were vacationing in San Diego. We had dinner with four friends at a nice beach restaurant then we all decided to go down and watch the waves. About 11:30 P.M., our friends decided to go back to their rooms. It was a beautiful, warm night, so we spread our towels on the sand and fell asleep

KATHY: All of a sudden, I felt a tap on my foot. I sat up, startled. I‟ll never forget it. He had a pistol, and a ski mask over his head. “I want your car keys.” Those were his first words.

BARRY: I sat up immediately, too. I gave him the car keys. I said, “Take it. No problem.” Then he ordered us to turn around and get on our knees. Now he was in back of us, probably three or four feet away.

KATHY: All I could think about was an incident in our hometown. These guys robbed a place and then ordered the people to turn around. They were all shot. Four or five killed, seven or so wounded, including children.

BARRY: I told Kathy, “Let‟s just be cool. Let‟s do what he says.”

KATHY: With our backs to this man, all I thought of was death. I felt a sense of doom. But neither Barry nor I knew what to do, so we obeyed him. Then he handed me some duct tape and told me to tie Barry up. I was shaking so much I messed up the tape. “Why the fuck did you mess it up, bitch?” he said. “Gimme your

belts.” M-F this and M-F that.

BARRY: He ordered us to get our heads down. We did, still kneeling.

KATHY: Then he took my scarf to tie up Barry and move him twenty feet or so away from me.

BARRY: We had been abruptly awakened and were so completely controlled, his gun and all. I was thinking, “Cooperate and it will all be over.” I wasn‟t thinking clearly. We had chances. Probably our best was

when he tied me up. He had to set the gun down to use both hands to tie me up. But I wasn‟t thinking. Then, he moved me twenty feet away from Kathy and ordered me to lie facedown. The roar of the surf made it difficult to hear well. Then he pulled the shirt over my head. He had me neutralized: tied. couldn‟t see, couldn‟t hear well, and separated from Kathy.

KATHY: While he was taking Barry over there, I just stayed where I was, on my knees looking down. I was numb, just thinking about death, praying. Then it happened. He said, “Stand up and take your clothes off.‟~ When my clothes were off, he made me lie down. I started to resist, but he rammed his gun into my face. I knew what was next.

He touched my breasts. Then he raped me. I cried quietly. I was so terrified if I screamed, Barry would know I was being hurt. If Barry had known I was being hurt, he would have exploded. I was afraid Barry would be shot.

When he finished, he gathered up his things and our belongings, ATM cards and stuff. He made me go a short distance with him, gun still on me. Finally, he took off. I ran to Barry and got him untied. We ran back from the beach toward the houses. I felt so dirty, just gross. Barry still didn‟t know.

When I told Barry, “I have to go to the hospital, I‟ve been raped,” Barry just lost it. He said, “I‟ve got to find him. I‟ve got to catch the bastard.” I told him it didn‟t matter. Barry grabbed me, hugged me, and we started running up the street. We found a house with a light on.

BARRY: The guy answered and said, “What‟s wrong?” I told him we were robbed on the beach. I don‟t think it had

sunk in yet, that Kathy had been raped. We have had a lot of time to think, and I ye done a lot of second