BY RON BORSCH
It was an honor to be invited by Massad Ayoob to write a chapter for his new book. Massad’s brief criteria were to cover armed and unarmed citizens who have stopped mass murders in progress, single-handedly. Later, I will share more than four dozen examples of these heroes. These initial actors are also what my friend Chris Bird describes in his book, Surviving a Mass Killer Rampage, as “irregular first responders.”
The reader should be aware that media reports do not always report the actual sequence of who did what in their efforts to stop rapid mass murder. Real investigative journalists, law enforcement officers, you and I would appreciate those details. Without those details, that leaves us to decide whether some murder stoppages were initiated by lone heroes, or later joined by others, or a group effort. The stories not told here are examples of learned helplessness where many innocents experience “give-up-itus,” where they did nothing to stop the murdering.
Years ago when I was teaching rapid mass murder police response formations, I was a bit disillusioned when it appeared that the “tactical gurus” were not paying attention to what actually worked and what did not in law enforcement responses. Their logic of getting less manpower on scene sooner was certainly a step in the right direction. However, this involved rounding up a posse of four or more officers for some sort of military formation. As time went on and I continued to study current and past events, it became evident to me that when a successful law enforcement response worked, this newer formation concept was nowhere to be found.
About a decade ago, as a relative nobody, my not conforming to the tactical gurus of the day was like trying to swim upstream against the current. Merely documenting the truth and publishing reports on the majority successes of a Single Officers Lifesaving Others (SOLO) earned me arrows in the back from many officers, trainers, SWAT Commanders and even some tactical gurus. Fortunately, there was help coming from enlightened folks who also had the vision to see through the fog of unjustified bias and supported my data-based efforts.
Full disclosure would be appropriate here. I am not a trained statistician or researcher. After a well-rounded 47-year law enforcement and training career, I was merely a “cop with a calculator.” Of course I am open to any details, as a relevant quote reveals: “Just when we think we’re arrived at the ‘ultimate solution,’ we discover that, as our telescope improves, more stars appear!” (Julian Barnes via John Farnam).
My focus initially was for law enforcement such as my Tactical 1st Responder course (attended by student officers from 10 states). Along the way there were surprises for me! First, the revelation that only about half of rapid mass murders were ever stopped by anyone. This meant of course, that this half of the mass murdering was only stopped when the murderers said it stopped. Then, in the other half when rapid mass murder was stopped by someone, there was my astonishment that about two thirds of that half were stopped by on-site citizens (mostly unarmed) or on-site security, not off-site police officers!
My “Stopwatch of Death” database protocol for rapid mass murder is “within 20 minutes, four or more murdered/attempted at the same time and public place.” To establish a database, the focus is aimed toward the more unpredictable random actors that commit rapid mass murder rather than incidents involving criminal gangs, terrorists, spree killers, hostage situations, or domestic violence murders in residences which are not counted. This avoids the oranges versus apples effect, making for an easier-to-manage database for a single uncompensated retiree. It likewise is easier to identify methods of operation that may be helpful in sharing prevention and countermeasure efforts.
After researching these incidents back to 1975 and acquiring almost 200 incidents in my Stopwatch of Death database, my take is that the majority of citizen stoppages of rapid mass murder are initiated primarily by a single lead actor lifesaving others, or single actors lifesaving others acting simultaneously. I have included all of the citizen stoppages that I am aware of so readers can see clearly where a single actor first initiated, where two or more citizens acted singly or were empowered to follow by a single actor or leader. There is no easy way of verifying a sequence. At least one telling is very clear, and has a video link to boot!
Part of the reason that half of rapid mass murder is not stopped is that many facilities have placed total reliance on off-site police instead of executing plans and countermeasures while they wait. Documented times from first threat to last act are little known or not reported in the media. When the times are known, they are averaging less than six minutes. While six minutes is a relatively short time, it must be understood in context. There is also a delay in notifying police (five to seven minutes per Ed Sanow), which we round to six minutes. Added to that is call taking, dispatching, police response, locating and stopping-the-killer time.
Unfortunately, the reality more often than not is You’re On Your Own (YOYO). Thus we can see the value of on-site armed good guys. It’s probably normal for those in charge to not want to think about active killers, terrorism, and custodial responsibility for the safety of innocents in their facility. Some would heap great praise and accolades on their local law enforcement, which may be well deserved, but misplaced when used as an excuse to abandon responsibility for taking appropriate safety and security steps.
Unarmed citizens going up against an active killer with a remote control weapon, such as a firearm, is very dangerous. Many have tried and died despite heroic effort. In non-specific reports, recall that in any surprise attack on untrained persons, people respond differently and rarely function immediately or as fluidly as a well-practiced and experienced team. While most folks are aware of instinctual things like fight or flight, fewer are aware that everyone “freezes” first.
For example, in a surprise life-threatening encounter, we need time to decide what is best, to fight or flee. This freezing could range from a split second to the remainder of an early-terminated life. This is often referred to as “paralysis by analysis.” The simplest and best explanation of the mental stages we go through was identified by Col. John Boyd and his “OODA Loop.” OODA stands for “observe-orient-decide-act.”
In the observe (or perception), orienting, and deciding stages, nothing physical occurs. After this non-action freeze, finally in the last stage, there is initiation of motor action and we begin to do something. Winners and survivors are those who arrive at the act stage before their adversary does. The takeaway here is that no physical action is taken until the mental stages of perception, orienting and deciding are completed.
The OODA loop is cyclical, continuously repeated. While sounding slow, the process can be very fast. Drivers for instance, go through this process every time they see the need to take their foot off of the gas pedal and apply the brakes. For the unprepared, the surprise is greater, as is the processing of denial, the fog of confusion and chaos. The prepared and practiced always act quicker.
The number one target for rapid mass murder has typically been “laws and facilities that forbid the honest, law abiding, state-vetted and otherwise legal concealed weapon permit holders to have a firearm on their premises.” The legal scar here is that criminals and active killers do not recognize such restrictions.
The result is the disarming and victimization of only the innocent and law abiding. With such a legal scar, any pretense of “safety” only favors the health, welfare and safety of the murderous invader. Unless and until our academics and legislators get their head in reality, they are trolling for tragedy and abdicating their custodial responsibility for the safety of innocents in their facilities.
I created the Stopwatch of Death model and database in order to provide a reliable unit of measurement with which to determine the scale of one active killer incident relative to another. The Stopwatch of Death factor is the number of casualties (murdered and wounded together), divided by the time in minutes.
For instance, the 1999 Columbine High School in Colorado (13 killed, 24 wounded in 13 minutes), gives us a Stopwatch of Death factor of SWD= 2.8 murder attempts per minute. On April 28th, 1996, in a three-event shooting spree at the Broad Arrow Cafe in Tasmania, Australia, an active killer murdered 12 and wounded 10 in a 15 second event. That SWD factor was a shocking 88.0 murder attempts per minute.
Below are examples of both armed and unarmed rapid mass murder stoppages.
(Legend: M= Murdered, W= Wounded, SWD= Stopwatch of Death factor)
030685 Post Office, Atlanta GA (M-02, W-01): Male subdued by other workers.
103085 Springfield Mall, Philadelphia PA (M-03, W-07): Female disarmed by John Laufer Volunteer Firefighter/EMT shopper as she walked up to him and tried to raise her gun to shoot him. This was a 4-minute event, SWD factor 2.5.
120887 Post Office, Melbourne Australia (M-08, W-00): Donald McElroy (already shot once) and Tony Gioia tackled while Frank Carmody, who had been shot several times, wrestled the rifle from the male.
052088 Hubbard Woods Elementary School, Winnetka IL (M-01, W-05): A teacher disarmed the shooter, the male shooter left and with a second gun committed suicide off-site.
121688 Christian School, Virginia Beach VA (M-01, W-02): Bible teacher Hutch Matson tackled killer when his MK-10 gun jammed. Coward had hundreds of rounds remaining.
082492 Concordia University, Quebec Canada (M-04, W-01): Male held a security guard and professor Dr. George Abdou hostage. Murderer briefly put his gun down during a phone call, Abdou kicked it away and the unknown security guard overpowered him.
120793 Long Island Train, NY (M-06, W-19): Three passengers – Michael O’Connor, Kevin Blum, and Mark McEntee – tackled the coward and pinned him to one of the train’s seats. Several other passengers ran forward to grab his arms and legs and help hold him. This was a 3-minute event, SWD factor 8.3.
111595 Richland High School, Lynnville TN (M-02, W-01): Male tackled by a student and coach Ron Shirey wrestled him to the ground.
020296 Moses Lake Middle School, WA (M-05, W-01): Hearing gunshots, teacher-coach Jon Lane entered the classroom to find male holding his students hostage. Lane volunteered as a hostage, and murderer kept him at gunpoint with his rifle while trying to leave. Lane then grabbed the weapon from the coward and wrestled him to the ground.
091796 Penn State College, PA (M-01, W-01): The toll might have been higher if not for 21-year-old senior Brendon Malovrh of Downingtown, who tackled female sniper before the high school dropout could finish reloading her rifle.
100197 High School, Pearl MS (M-02, W-07): Assistant principal Joel Myrick retrieved a pistol from his truck and, spotting the male attempting to flee the parking lot towards another school after the shooting, shouted for him to stop.
042498 Banquet facility/school event, Edinboro PA (M-01, W-03): Owner James Strand intervened and confronted the male with a shotgun, ordering him to drop his weapon.
052198 School Thurston, Springfield OR (M-02, W-22): Wounded student Jacob Ryker tackled male and was assisted by several other students. A total of seven students were involved in subduing and disarming the coward who was in possession of another 1100 rounds.
011399 KSL TV station, Salt Lake City UT (M-01, W-01): Female opened fire in the lobby of the television station, wounding the building manager and killing another before being tackled by the victim’s co-worker.
042899 W. R. Myers High School, Taber/Alberta High School, Canada (M-01, W-01): Male with 300 rounds of ammunition and sawed-off .22-caliber rifle fired at three students. Gym coach Cheyno Finnie wrestled coward to the floor.
052199 Heritage High School, Conyers GA (M-00, W-06): Male was shooting near the girls’ bathroom in the common area. Students first thought it was a prank, then pandemonium. Gunman fired four to six shots into a crowd of students, then cowardly ran out a side door. Assistant Principal Cecil Brinkley talked coward out of suicide then the boy surrendered the gun to him.
091499 Hospital/Med Center, Anaheim CA (M-03, W-00): Viet Nam Vet Ronald Robertson, 51, heard the gunfire, rushed to prevent the assailant from reaching the lobby, tackled, grabbed for the gun and, though fatally shot, he and others held the murderer long enough for hospital security to arrive.
120699 Middle School, Ft. Gibson OK (M-00, W-04): When his 9mm pistol emptied, the coward was subdued by the school safety officer. He and a teacher held the shooter until police arrived.
060801 Ikeda Elementary School, Osaka Japan (M-08, W-15): Adult former employee using a knife started murdering until subdued by two teachers.
042602 High School, Erfurt Germany (M-17, W-07): Coward was confronted by teacher, Rainer Heise, who spoke to the male student for a short period of time. He lured the coward, pushed him into an empty room and quickly locked the door. (On-site suicide). This was a 10 minute event, SWD factor 2.4.
011602 Appalachian Law School, Grundy VA (M-03, W-03): At the first sound of gunfire, unbeknownst to each other, Tracy Bridges and fellow student Mikael Gross ran to their vehicles to retrieve their personally-owned firearms. Participants and witnesses differ as to the details. According to Ted Besen, a Marine vet and former police officer, he engaged in a physical confrontation with the murderer and knocked him to the ground. Bridges and Gross then arrived from different angles with their guns once the coward was tackled.
070402 El-Al Airline Airport, Los Angeles CA (M-02, W-04): After gunman fired 10 bullets at the crowd, a security guard, who was unarmed, managed to knock him down. Meanwhile, El Al’s armed security officer, Chaim Sapir, ran to the scene and the assailant stabbed him with a knife. Despite this, Sapir managed to draw his pistol and shoot the gunman in the chest. After he fell, Sapir fired a head shot, killing the coward.
102102 Melbourne Monash University, Australia (M-02, W-05): When the coward stopped shooting and moved to switch weapons, Lee Gordon-Brown, an injured lecturer, grabbed the murderer‘s hands as he reached into his jacket. Brown and a student in the room, Alastair Boast, a martial artist, tackled him. Bradley Thompson later entered the room and discovered five guns in holsters around Xiang’s waist, as well as two magazines near his hip.
071703 Capital High School, Charleston WV (M-00, W-01): During a Kanawha County Board of Education meeting, the coward arrived with an AK-47 assault rifle in a black plastic bag and three buckets of gasoline. Splashing two with gas, he tried to ignite the gas with a striker; failing that pulled out the rifle. Jeffery Allred, Bill Courtney and Bill Buchanan seized the attempted arsonist. Unfortunately, as they wrestled, the coward was able to fire three shots, one hitting a librarian.
092403 Rocori High School, St. Cloud MN (M-02, W-00): After murdering two, the coward attempted to flee the scene but was confronted by Gym coach Mark Johnson. The coward initially brandished the gun at Johnson who said he raised his hand and shouted “No,” and that the assassin then removed the bullets from the weapon and dropped it.
020904 Columbia High School, East Greenbush NY (M-00, W-01): A cowardly student opened fire with a pump shotgun firing at least two shells before he was tackled by assistant principal John Shawchuck, who wrestled the attempted killer to the ground. Also responding was Michael Bennett, a special-education teacher who was coming to help when he was shot.
050905 Conard Community Service Center, San Francisco CA (M-01, W-00): A recently-fired male employee opened fire with a pistol. The coward dropped the pistol and began to raise a shotgun. Kalifa Coulibaly grabbed him and began struggling for the gun. Owen Spaulding, age 50, sitting on the sidewalk outside the office, saw the pair roll out the front door. Spaulding knew the employee and jumped into the middle of it. Nearby Gregg Wozniak overheard people yelling, “He’s got a gun!” so he also jumped in and pried the gun away.
110805 High School, Campbell County, Jacks-boro TN (M-01, W-02): A 14-year-old male student opened fire in the office. The gun was wrestled from the teen, but not before he shot three staff members. Principal Gary Seale, one of the administrators who had been shot, managed to get to the school intercom and order a lockdown. One vice principle was killed and two staff were wounded before an unidentified teacher wrestled his weapon away.
031406 Pine Middle School, Reno NV (M-00, W-02): Students and teachers heard shots and the gym teacher, Jencie Fagan, approached the coward and challenged him. Fagan managed to convince the male student, 14, to drop his gun and then restrained him in a “bear hug” until more staff arrived to help
092906 Weston High School, Cazenovia WI (M-01, W-00): 14-year-old student entered school with a shotgun and aimed it at a social studies teacher. The school custodian, Dave Thompson, wrestled the shotgun away from the student who then drew a .22 revolver from inside his jacket, Thompson and the teacher ran for cover. Principal John Klang confronted the gunman who fired several shots. Fatally wounded, Principal Klang grabbed the coward, wrestled him to the ground and swept away the gun.
060607 NY/NY Casino, Las Vegas NV (M-00, W-04): 16 gunshots were mistaken by many for fireworks until people were diving for cover behind slot machines and blackjack tables. The gunman was in the process of a reload when a tourist tackled him for a 38-second stoppage and violent struggle. One man, an unknown off-duty military reservist, wrestled the 9mm pistol free. They estimated he had 100 more rounds. TV and radio reports at the time credited a second man arriving and assisting with a choke-hold, and others also arriving to assist. Specific details as to who did what and when are absent. Credited is Christopher Koenig who ran toward the source of the shots and helped others subdue the alleged gunman. Koenig suffered a broken finger when attempted killer bit his hand. Assisting in the taken down were Justin Lampert, David James, Robert Ura and Paul Ura.
120907 New Life Church, Colorado Springs CO (M-02, W-03): A murderer who had already killed two and wounded another two 70 miles away (Youth With A Mission training center in Arvada, Colorado) before escaping to attack a second church with a number of firearms. At New Life Church, he killed two more people and wounded three in the parking lot. No one inside this mega church was harmed due to the courageous action of former police officer Jeanne Assam, a member of the church’s safety team. She fatally shot this cowardly murderer several times.
030608 Mercaz HaRav School, Jerusalem Israel (M-08, W-11): The lone coward was stopped by long-time Mercaz HaRav student Yitzchak Dadon and off-duty Israel Defense Forces Captain David Shapira who fought back using their personal firearms. Unfortunately, a police patrolman who arrived at the scene before Shapira remained outside in an effort to “freeze the situation” by preventing civilians from entering, instead of making contact and stopping the shooting. Approximate 14-20 minute event, SWD factor 1.4 to 1.0.
072708 TV Unitarian Universalist Church, Knoxville TN (M-02, W-07): A performance by 25 children was interrupted by a shotgun-wielding 58-year-old male coward opening fire on the audience. 60-year-old Greg McKendry, an usher who deliberately stood in front of the gunman to protect others, was killed at the scene. The coward was stopped when church members John Bohstedt, Robert Birdwell, Arthur Bolds, and Terry Uselton, along with visitor Jamie Parkey, restrained him.
030809 First Baptist Church, Maryville IL (M-01, W-02): During the service, a gunman walked down the aisle and briefly spoke to the Pastor before shooting and killing Rev. Fred Winters. The Pastor used the Bible he was reading from to shield himself from the first round of bullets being pumped at him. The gunman’s .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol jammed after the fourth shot was fired. The suicidal coward then started stabbing himself with a four-inch knife when tackled by some of about 150 worshippers. Terry Bullard and Keith Melton were slashed when they tried to subdue him.
022310 Deer Creek Middle School, Littleton CO (M-00, W-02): “Sounding like firecrackers,” an adult male with a rifle shot a boy and girl. Seventh-grade math teacher David Benke tackled the suspect as he was trying to reload his weapon, he and another man helped hold him until police arrived.
100810 Carlsbad elementary school playground, San Diego CA (M-00, W-02): Adult male opened fire with a .357 revolver, wounding two little girls. Three construction workers who saw the shooting acted. Carlos Partida used his pickup truck to knock the coward down. He and co-workers Steven Kane and Mario Contreras then subdued the gunman.
121410 Bay District School Board meeting, Panama FL (M-00, W-00): A disgruntled adult fired four shots at six school board members, but missed them all. The coward was then shot several times by retired police officer Mike Jones, the gunman then killed himself with a shot to the head.
010811 Shopping Center, Tucson AZ (M-06, W-13): U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords and eighteen others were shot during a constituent meeting held in a supermarket parking lot in Casas Adobes, Arizona. A cowardly 22-year-old man who was fixated on Giffords proceeded to fire apparently randomly at other members of the crowd. He stopped to reload, but dropped the loaded magazine from his pocket to the sidewalk, from where bystander Patricia Maisch grabbed it. Another bystander clubbed the back of the assailant’s head with a folding chair, and he was tackled to the ground by Bill Badger, a 74-year-old retired United States Army Colonel who had already been wounded. The assassin was further subdued by Maisch and bystanders Roger Sulzgeber and Joseph Zamudio. Zamudio had a weapon on his person, but arrived after the shooting had stopped and did not draw his firearm. This was an approximate 15-second event, SWD factor 76.0.
072411 Muckleshoot Casino Club Galaxy, Auburn WA (M-00, W-06): Adult male shot relatives and bystanders until tackled and subdued.
022712 High School, Chardon OH (M-03, W-02): Hero Teacher-Coach Frank Hall saw a young man firing into a crowd and charged the coward who pointed the gun at the coach. Hall kept chasing while yelling down the corridor until the coward fled the building. Thereafter, the coward gave himself up to a female driver he flagged down.
081212 Perry Hall High School, MD (M-00, W-01): Male, 15-year-old student with a shotgun and 21 rounds randomly opened fire. Students said it sounded like the pop of air that escapes when a bag of air is smashed, or the clap of a door slamming shut. School staff rushed toward the coward. While school counselor Jesse Wasmer struggled to restrain and disarm the coward, another round was fired into the ceiling.
081512 Christian Family Research Council, Washington DC (M-00, W-01): 28 -year-old male entered the building with a pistol, two magazines and 50 rounds of ammunition. At the front door the coward shot the building manager acting as an unarmed guard, Leo Johnson, who confronted him. Wounded, he wrestled the gunman to the ground, disarming him. Johnson and others overpowered the gunman at the front door area.
121112 Clackamas Mall, Portland OR (M-02, W-01): 22-year-old male coward ran into the shopping center wearing tactical clothing and a hockey mask, firing 17 shots on shoppers and employees with a stolen AR-15. He was unable to reload the rifle at that point. During that time, Nick Meli, a concealed carry permit holder, had drawn his Glock pistol, claimed to have taken aim at the coward, but did not fire since there was a bystander behind him. Meli claims that the coward saw him and that this may have contributed to his decision to commit suicide.
011013 Taft-Union High School, Taft CA (M-00, W-02): 16-year-old male student entered a science classroom that morning armed with a 12-gauge shotgun. The coward shot one student before shooting at and missing another. The teacher, who suffered a minor pellet wound to the head, began to evacuate the students out a back door. He and a campus supervisor were able to engage the shooter in conversation and distract him while students evacuated the classroom. The two adults were able to calm the shooter and convince him to put down the gun.
080513 Municipal Building, Ross Township, Saylorsburg PA (M-03, W- 04): 15 to 18 people were attending the meeting inside. A 59-year-old coward approached the building armed with a Ruger Mini-14 rifle, began firing 28 times into the building through the windows. He continued firing as he entered and made his way through the building. At some point the coward exited the building, retrieved a .44 Magnum revolver from his vehicle and returned. He was tackled while still shooting. Bernard Kozen and Mark Krashe struggled with him over the gun. They subdued, disarmed and restrained him for police.
082213 Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Elementary Academy, Decatur GA (M-00, W-00): Armed with multiple guns, an AK-47 and 500 rounds, the 20-year-old coward may have slipped in behind an employee for entry before confronting and holding office staff captive. He fired six shots at officers as they arrived and officers returned fire. Bookkeeper Antoinette Tuff talked the gunman into putting his weapons down and peacefully surrendering while she spoke to him and the 911 operator.
040913 Lone Star College, Cypress TX (M-00, W-14): The 20-year-old coward stabbed more than a dozen students, then ran as students pursued. One finally reached him near the parking lot, grabbing the assailant in a bear hug. Ryan Ballard, also closing in, noticed that the attacker was squirming to get his hand into his back pocket, so Ballard knocked both of them to the ground. Coward confessed to police he was “trying to go on a killing spree but the (expletive) blade broke” and that he had fantasies of stabbing people since he was eight years old.
040914 Franklin Senior High School, Murrysville PA (M-00, W-22): 16-year-old male student with a pair of 8-inch kitchen knives went on a stabbing spree. This coward was subdued by assistant principal Sam King, with the help of student Ian Griffith, after spotting a school resource officer who was wounded.
060514 Pacific University, Otto Miller Hall, Seattle WA (M-01, W-02): Students described the sound as like helium balloons popping after a 26-year-old male student shot three people with a double-barrel shotgun. Seconds after, while the coward was reloading, student-safety monitor Jon Meis, 22, sprayed him in the eyes with OC/Pepper, tackled and disarmed him. Once the killer was down, others assisted. The coward also had extra ammunition and a knife with him. Actual video take-down link: http://www.kiro7.com/news/local/hero-of-spu-shooting-an-example-of-bystander-taking-action/343578948).
072414 Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital, Darby PA (M-01, W-01): A female case worker was killed and a doctor wounded. The coward was then shot by the doctor, who returned fire from his own gun.
102214 Parliament, Ottawa Canada (M-00, W-01): After shooting a guard in the foot with a rifle, running towards the in-session Parliament, the coward hid from pursuing RCMP officers. Hero Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers obtained a 9mm handgun from a lock-box, entered the hall where he was advised that the suspect was hiding in the alcove. Vickers immediately ran behind the other side of a nearby column, dove past the column and fired upward, killing the coward.
102414 Marysville-Pilchuck High School, WA (M-04, W-01): 15-year-old male student with a handgun. First-year social studies teacher Megan Silberberger tried to apprehend the coward as he may have been attempting to reload, before he fatally shot himself.
061016 Plaza Live Meet & Greet, Orlando FL (M-01, W- 01): 27-year-old male was tackled by murder victim’s brother Marcus Grimmie. The coward brought two handguns, two magazines and a large knife, and was able to commit suicide on-site.
Ron Borsch manages the PACT Consultant Group. Supported by the seven SEALE Chiefs of Police, he was also the founder and, from 1998 to 2015, manager lead trainer for SEALE Regional Police Training Academy in Bedford, Ohio. Ron built this academy from the seven police department cooperative to eventually serve more than one hundred law enforcement agencies from ten states. Before that, Ron had a three-decade law enforcement career including serving as range master, pistol team captain, defensive tactics instructor, and SWAT. He is also a Viet Nam veteran (1965-66), serving as a U.S. Army Paratrooper with the 101st Airborne. He is on the SchoolGuard.com advisory panel. For the last several years at the International Law Enforcement and Educators Training Association in Chicago IL (ILEETA), Ron has served on two panels of experts annually.