Scenario: Subway

[Duxman]

I hardly ever ride the subway unless I am headed to DC, but if I was, and I was 100% sure this person had a bomb - I would first check where his hands are and see if he is holding the switch.

Most of these sucide bombers do not carry very sophisticated mercury switches that instantly detonate when their heart stops beating. It is usually a timer or some manual flip switch.

If hands are away from pockets or not near jacket, and only if I am sure that it is a bomb - he gets two in head.

Then pull the emergency stop and get everyone out of train.

First off, most cell phones DO NOT WORK in subways. Unless your cell company has a repeater. By the time you get to another payphone (which is usually outside the train) and alert the authorities, this bomber has blown up the train and 100 people with him.

If you are going to down, (and this is a personal philosophy) - at least die with some courage in your heart. Self preservation is certainly an option, but I do not think I would live well with myself - knowing that I could have stopped such carnage - if only I took a chance. Can you?

Not that I want to be a hero - its just the right thing to do.

[XavierBreath]

Move beside him.
Engage him in friendly conversation.
Ask him if he knows where 79 virgins are.
If he doesn't, give him Rosie O'Donnell's name and address.
Tell him he can find them there.
Get off at the next stop.

Seriously, the only chance you have is to not let on that you know what he has. Either distract him in some way, or leave as soon as possible. It would be nice if you could do both. Maybe tell the gangbanger in the corner that guy in the overcoat is carrying a suitcase of cash and then change cars..........

[Glenn E. Meyer]

Just run for your life. I dithered in a FOF like this and got blown up.

[JohnKSa]

Draw when he's not looking and empty your firearm at his head. Then reload quickly so you can commit suicide in case he was just carrying some road flare under his coat so people wouldn't see them and think he was carrying dynamite.

Not every situation calls for a firearm solution.

[wayneinFL]

I haven't read the details, but I've read in various publications that in Israel a woman carrying a gun stopped a suicide bomber before he could set off the explosives. So, it's not completely out of the question.

But I think advice such as Dwight55's is the best bet. Of course, if I was a suicide bomber and saw someone look me over and start walking out of the car, that's when I'd hit the switch.

Hmmm... do we ride the airplane and see where it goes or die trying to stop it? Tough questions. Hope I never find myself in the situation.

You have a CCW for personal defense, not civil defense you do not need to detour into Police territory.

How far does personal defense extend? The person next to you on the street is a person. Surely you'd try to save the person next to you, if you knew he would be killed without your intervention. If you could save an entire train car of people from certain, imminent death, wouldn't you?

[Slateman]

Duxman - First off, when you say DC, do you mean Washington DC? As in the nation's capital? As in where I work?

Handguns are illegal in DC. Flat out, you can't own one unless you're Law Enforcement. And as for cell phones, get Verizon. Its the bomb (no pun intended )

Other than that, I dunno. The last place I would want to get into a firefight is the Metro. Especially rush hour. In order to hit him, I'd have to be standing right next to him. Kinda messy :barf:

[Para Bellum]

you only have two possibilities:

1. RUN

2. Shoot the back of the head

What if your assessment was wrong? Or you don't hit well enough?
So, I'd RUN!

[stephen426]

Sturmgewehr-58,

Originally Posted by Sturmgewehr-58

At what point do you decide the guy LOOKS like he has a bomb strapped to him? Maybe you should leave your gun at home.

What is up with your comment and why should I even consider leaving my gun at home? Because you say I should? I mentioned that if the guy was weraing a bulky jacket in Miami. It is about 90 degrees plus at around 90% humidity. Now that would seem out of place. If the guy looked nervous and you saw wire or what looked like explosives strapped to him, THAT would dictate taking action. Perhaps you feel it is better to pop everyone you see in the melon just in case they are carrying a bomb. Perhaps it is YOU who should leave YOUR gun at home.

[Sturmgewehr-58]

What is up with your comment and why should I even consider leaving my gun at home?

How about the comment you made about wishing you had a laser sight on your gun so you could point it at people who cut you off in traffic? You seem to have pretty poor judgment. Shooting someone because you think he looks like he is carrying a bomb is not a good idea.

Perhaps you feel it is better to pop everyone you see in the melon just in case they are carrying a bomb.

No, I don't.

[tshadow6]

I would get as far away as I could, and use my cell phone to call the transit police. I would keep watch until the calvary arrived.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

This is true. A week ago, I was driving through the medical center area of San Antonio. It is blazing hot here now. I see a guy walking down the street with a parka, hood on and backpack. Should I just stop and shoot him on the street? Call the law?

I just drove on by. Unless you directly see a bomb, you will be calling the law everyday for packages and backpacks.

[k_dawg]

Yell "Allahu Akbar!" and see how he reacts :-)

[JohnKSa]

I see a guy walking down the street with a parka, hood on and backpack.

There are at least two (possibly 3) employees where I work who ALWAYS wear a coat. You'll see them in July with the temps pushing 100 and they're walking out to the parking lot in a coat. Not a suit coat, a windbreaker/jacket. Personally, I think they're aliens--not from another country--from another planet. You know, where the average temperature is much higher.

Don't know what it is about this thread, but it seems to bring out the worst in me...

[Lawyer Daggit]

Quietly get up and move to another carriage- I agree that 'he who turns and runs away lives to fight another day'.

Without proof that it is a bomb I would not run the risk- anyway- to overcome the issue of bombers 'chickening out' a lot of bombs are activated by remote by someone following the bomber- so killing the carrier will not necessarily save the passengers.

There is a chance that the guy may just be carrying the explosive somewhere else- a courier- so I would call the cops from the other carriage and perhaps observe and follow the dude - from a distance- to see where he was going.

Where is the guy sitting- any chance of overpowering him- a person who gets grabbed and is then given an explanation by a wrongly assuming good citizen is going to be far less upset than his family members when he has been shot to death on a false assumption.

[Duxman]

Slateman,

Yes DC where you work. The reason I hardly ever go there is because you cannot carry a handgun. Although you can ride certain sections of the metro without going into DC or Maryland. (So its OK to carry then - if you have a permit of course.)

I think the main concern of most folks here is IF the sucide bomber is a sucide bomber. Which is why I mentioned - ONLY IF I WAS 100% sure that person had a bomb. If I was 99% sure, I would not shoot the suspected BG.

My cousin was in the train in London that blew up - but he was lucky enough to get out one stop before the explosion. Hope everyone here is just as lucky - but if not, and you knew that the person was going to blow up train - how could you live with yourself knowing you could have done something and didnt.

Does anyone here remember the brave americans who fought the highjackers in 911 and prevented the plane from hitting the whitehouse? They did the right thing, and it cost them their lives. I dont blame anyone for running, but that is what the terrorists want. Fear.

[Sturmgewehr-58]

Does anyone here remember the brave americans who fought the highjackers in 911 and prevented the plane from hitting the whitehouse?

You mean United Flight 93? The plane that carried only 40 passengers and crashed in a wooded area 80 miles southeast of Pittsburgh? The one that was shot down by F-16s when it was over an area that would ensure the fewest casualties on the ground?

[PythonGuy]

The point is you don't know 100% and thats why the hyperbole is just a waste of time. There is more to life then carrying a gun or shooting someone, thats what the terrorists do.....

[buzz_knox]

The one that was shot down by F-16s when it was over an area that would ensure the fewest casualties on the ground?

You're not prolonging that long debunked myth, are you?

[spacemanspiff]

why, i'd wrap my ninja-cloaking, umm, cloak around me so i'd be 'invisible' and then i'd put my ninja-wallcrawling-boots on and i'd stalk the guy while covertly transmitting live video/audio over my ninja-video/audio-transmitter-unit-3000 to local law enforcement (they have a channel that i feed right into, i'm so tactical it hurts).

then i'd use my special-super-secret decoder ring to recieve my orders on what to do. i am skilled in using ninja-cutting-instruments (you non-ninjas call them 'knives') and can fillet anything that moves (except salmon, i just can't get clean cuts through the flesh of a fish, that must not be a genetic trait to us aleuts). or i can use my knowledge of ninja-touch (some call it the 'vulcan touch') to paralyze the suspect long enough to plant a ninja-mini-explosive-suppository with just enough timer for me to get out its range.

did i mention that i'm so tactical it hurts?

[PythonGuy]

Hey Spiff,

Thats a better scenario then most of the others and about as plausable. Here's an idea for all you frustrated superhero wannabies, go buy some Osama targets and shoot them at the range and get all your angst out, that'll save some poor doofus's life who wears bulk y clothing.

[Topthis]

Yeah...I like the Ninja thingy too!! See, I got annoyed with the whole idea of people losing their minds over being paranoid about bus bombings and such...so I started the New Scenario: Subway thread...meaning for it to be a joke, add levity and poke fun at those who come up with bizzare scenarios etc. However I got berated for it. Whatever!!

[mgdavis]

Who here can ID a bomb on sight? I doubt they're made of rows of dynamite (correct me if I'm wrong). Let the cops know, sure, but please don't just start shooting until you hear "I have a bomb" or similar. It seems more likely that it is an off-duty LEO/Security/Mall Ninja that felt like wearing their ballistic vest on the way home "just in case".

[oystermick]

Ok, let's put aside the bulky jacket and say it's a guy in a business suit with an attaché case that you think is too big and he's acting nervously and even though it's August, you think he's sweating just a bit too much...
Sorry, just my comment on absurd, paranoid scenarios.

[jburtonpdx]

Ok, let's put aside the bulky jacket and say it's a guy in a business suit with an attaché case that you think is too big and he's acting nervously and even though it's August, you think he's sweating just a bit too much...
Sorry, just my comment on absurd, paranoid scenarios.

Poor guy probably just spent a few grand on guns and is dreading facing his wife...