What to do in a terror attack

[howtorebuild]

Trying to help someone on a thread in Paris, any advice?

I have read the news earlier, but you are jumping to wild conclusions, do you honestly think that is helping anyone today who are already anxious?

Give it a fucking rest, go to philosophy and religion. I already covered it, you're looking for a reason to have a go.

And you're getting angry because you know you're in the wrong.

There will be a lot of reports like this in the coming days, it was the same when the IRA were targeting London in the early '90's.

For the OP and from my own experiences, just some tips from my previous life:

When going into a building always check for exits and emergency exits.
Look for security personnel and where they are positioned.
Look for possible choke points and avoid them if you can.
If it is crowded agree a checkpoint/recovery point for your party.
Check what each member of your party is wearing and remember it.

If an attack happens:
No heroics. Unless you are trained you will probably get it wrong.
Eyes down, do as you are told. Get on the floor, calm children, calm yourself.
Get away from choke points and Windows
Cover your head/face/eyes.
Don't stand out.
But try to remember what is going on - use your ears more than your eyes.

If you get hurt:
Pack wounds - don't worry about what you use, get something inside and against it. Don't use tourniquets unless you are trained and unless you can carry the person afterwards. Direct pressure - even if it hurts.

If one of your party is killed - there is nothing you can do. If you can get out you still have to get out. Don't risk your life for someone who is already gone. They will be recovered, it doesn't have to be by you.

If you get out:
Get away, stay away. Get to a cordon/security services, give your details. Check everyone in your party is with you and unhurt.
Try to remember as much as you can about the perpetrators: height, weight, colour, build, accent/dialect, what they said and why they said it. What you did, why you did it.

If you get home:
Get warm. Get fed. Hot sweet tea (it really does work), talk about it, see what you all remember, see if you have anything that could help the security services, remind each other you are alive, count your blessings. Be positive. Soothe each other. Don't be afraid to cry, to rant, to grieve.

Aftermath:
Give as much assistance as you can to the security services - any information you have can help. They'd rather wade through a pile of junk for that one important tip than try to piece everything together blind.

Celebrate life.

Thank you.

What do you do if you are alone with your very young children? I'm terrified something will happen to me infront of them. What will happen to them? I can't get this out my head

What is a choke point? Does it mean a place where lots of people will try to exit and potentially cause a crush?

A chokepoint is a bottleneck or constriction, a point of congestion or blockage.

They would be taken care of in the best way possible at the time, long.

And just to add to Eve's list, one that someone else told me:

Take a photo of your children so you have a picture of exactly what they look like that day, outfits etc. Easy to circulate.

Thanks Cozietoesie x

Lol, rebuild, how quick to point out obvious glee in someone responding critically to your knee-jerk 'they' post, when your pant-wetting excitement about starting a preppers thread for someone who didn't even want one, last night, displayed a far greater glee...
Pot, kettle?
'They' aren't doing anything. But you will always a get a few nutters who think they can jump on the back of something bigger. As well as heightened security which will cause scares in and of itself, genuine threat or not. That's the way it works.

Gosh this thread is illuminating, and has made me want to Prep.

eve very useful and informative post.

I just feel like I dont want to be separated from my babies at the moment (and due away today and tomorrow), but these thoughts are irrational - I am not going anywhere of any significance, or high profile.

Thanks eve for informative post.

SlightiyEmbarrassed I agree, one thing this Paris tragedy has shown me is run and get out. Taking hostages seemed to slow down this type of situation in the past whilst hostage takers and authority negotiating went on; here hostages are taken so they can be killed as soon as possible. Just awful.

I realise the chance of a terrorist attack coinciding with my dd's activities are remote, but the gig in Paris is exactly the kind of gig she goes to now. At 14, there are a few gigs I go to with her (the ones I can cope with and the ones where she doesn't have a friend to go with) but we have just decided, that with 15 around the corner, she can go alone. I just want to arm her with information for when she goes so she can keep herself safe.

So my first thing is, thanks for the information so far. My second is to ask, should I tell her to keep low, but head for the exits or lay down and play dead if there's an attack at one of her venues? I will ensure she checks the exits when she gets in and the security people too. I'll give her all the other advice too. I suppose I just want a plan of some sorts I can talk about with her so it's in the back of her head IF anything should happen in the UK.

I know you can't live your life based around the fear of a terrorist attack, but I would like to have a 'what if' plan ready...just in case.

It is worth remembering that this scenario is highly unlikely and most people won't encounter anything like this in their lifetime.

Can't put it better than exLtEveDallas - see above.

Everything I have read indicates that you should try and get out in the initial confusion if at all possible. If that doesn't work hide. If that doesn't work play dead.

The authorities got some stick for giving out these leaflets but it seems sensible to me.

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/11/25/london-terror-attack_n_6217886.html

Also worth bearing in mind that you don't know how you would react in any sort of emergency.

The only one I was in (not related to terrorism) I reacted instinctively and have absolutely no memory of hitting the locks. Everyone I was with took details for the police and we all remembered different things. Very weird the way that fear messes your memory up.

badasahatter the best thing to do is to get out. Playing dead won't help you if the attackers blow themselves up. Totally agree with Zetetic: get out, hide, play dead, in that order.

I have been thinking about this a great deal. I am disabled. I have talked to my children and husband about getting out of a situation as fast possible, even if it means leaving me behind. We routinely check exits, look for strangle points, asses situations, I am afraid though, that someone in my family would try to stay behind to assist me ( thinking of eldest dd in particular)

It's awful that we have to think about these things, but I think having a plan does help. Thanks for all the responses. I was wondering whether I'd be told to get a grip, but this has given me a strategy, so I can stop thinking about it now (other than when I'm having the conversation!) and get on with life as normal. SecretWitch I know I wouldn't be able to leave anyone behind if they were disabled. It's counter-intuitive to leave behind the people we love. Hopefully, we'll never have to think about it in real life.

I've often worried about how we would get ds out of a high risk situation without his wheelchair - obviously we're not going to call for the lift!
We often practice a 'chairlift' with him, and I always use a small bag which has our essentials in it and can go across my body.
If I was on my own my him then I'd just pray that the fabled 'superhuman strength' came into play and I could heft an, albeit small, 20-odd yr old on my shoulders!

Thanks for the information eve

Like thousands of others, tomorrow I'll be in the metro going to and from La Defense. I'm going to be wearing comfortable flats in case I need to run!

There's a couple of other preps I've got but I think just being very aware of what's going on around me is all I can do really.

I'm more concerned about DS going to school but they are open so he will go.

MsAdora

Does that mean we should take a photo of our children every time we leave the house, just in case? Not being snarky, just trying to understand the advice.