No Good Choice Scenario

[1042 Trooper]

Picture this-

You respond to a man with a gun report at an elementary school.

Cutting to the chase, you make entry and find him in the auditorium where he has corraled the student body and staff. He has surrounded himself with the kids, sitting on a chair in the middle of the basketbal court and is demanding an audience with the Lord Jesus Christ. A timer on the bomb gives five minutes until detonation and he orders you to leave.

He has several automatic weapons, a gasoline bomb at his feet and has rigged things so that if he gets off the chair in any way or moves his feet the bomb detonates.

He has taped grenades to several kids and has a string running through each pin with the end tied to his leg.

SWAT is ten minutes away. All you have is you and two back up officers.

Tick tock, man, what do you do????

[MesaHopeful]

Not an expert here, but

An upward shot with a shotgun through the neck would sever his spinal cord, which would prevent him from moving. The force of the shot may knock him over backwards however...

This is a really crappy situation =\ One thing to do would be to tell him that you can get Jesus on the loudspeaker, but that he's busy and needs about 10-15 minutes to get there. Someone this insane may actually believe that.

[Protect-N-Serve]

wow...

Coordinate with other officers to attempt to shoot him and catch him before his fall unclips the grenades. After that if successful, get the kids the heck out of there before the gym becomes a backlash.

[BeansBaxter]

Try to keep him busy with crazy talk. I that doesn't work you are probably going to have to take him out and hope the kids/faculty are smart enough to get out of the damn way.

[Kpdpipes]

Hmm if it's my and My dept..we're all screwed..me and one other officer, or some combinatiuon will stay in his Line of sight and keep talking to him and see if we can get him to focus on us, the other will try and flank him, and get close as possible to try and spine him from the back. then in with the leatherman tools, get as many kids free as possible . Long guns, whether Shotgun or Rifle just isnt an option for us.

[Margaret Hood]

What do you do??
P-R-A-Y!!

[The Rabbi]

Pretend to have a heart attack so you can't be blamed when things go Tango Uniform.

[Foxgguy2001]

I’d have to be with KPD above. As a last ditch effort I think it would save some lives, as opposed to a total loss. Though I don't know that putting two or three officers at risk would be acceptable. I think I'd just hope for some stall tactic through negotiation and see that out till its end. A man putting that many lives at risk just to get a word in with Jesus probably doesn’t have anything to ask, or anything good to say, but I'd do my best to make the man think I can relate to attempt to disarm the situation. I'd have to say a successful negotiation is your only hope.

[detsarg]

I'd have to say a successful negotiation is your only hope.

Agreed, its down to negotiations at this point. At least for as long as you can. With SWAT being 10 minutes out, you figure you have to keep the guy talking for at least 12 to 15. They maybe, big maybe, SWAT can coordinate a head shot while another officer, probably you, keeps him on the chair.

Regardless, its a crappy situation and there are both no and many right answers.

Pretty good one Trooper.

[aftermath]

Picture this-

You respond to a man with a gun report at an elementary school.

Cutting to the chase, you make entry and find him in the auditorium where he has corraled the student body and staff. He has surrounded himself with the kids, sitting on a chair in the middle of the basketbal court and is demanding an audience with the Lord Jesus Christ. A timer on the bomb gives five minutes until detonation and he orders you to leave.

He has several automatic weapons, a gasoline bomb at his feet and has rigged things so that if he gets off the chair in any way or moves his feet the bomb detonates.

He has taped grenades to several kids and has a string running through each pin with the end tied to his leg.

SWAT is ten minutes away. All you have is you and two back up officers.

Tick tock, man, what do you do????

Tell him Jesus is out to lunch, be back in 10. Best bet would be an officer in front occupying his attention, the better shooter in the back for a better chance at a spine severing headshot. Sounds a bit elaborate though for a suicide bomber. I mean, how could he get set up without too much chance of blowing himself up to begin with? Other opportunity might be, to save on the chance of the body slumping forward off the chair, is a nice wack with the ASP to the base of his skull, with any luck turning the bastard into a vegetable. I'd have to bet, unfortunately, a few will die in the process.

[Fëanor]

After that if successful, get the kids the heck out of there before the gym becomes a backlash.

As many as possible. Keep in mind some of the kids have grenades taped to them and can't move yet.

One thing to do would be to tell him that you can get Jesus on the loudspeaker, but that he's busy and needs about 10-15 minutes to get there

Try to keep him busy with crazy talk

I'd just hope for some stall tactic through negotiation and see that out till its end

Agreed, its down to negotiations at this point. At least for as long as you can. With SWAT being 10 minutes out, you figure you have to keep the guy talking for at least 12 to 15

Did all of you guys forget about the bomb that is armed and set to detonate in only 5 minutes?

Here is the solution I think is best, with help from all the above posters added in:

Like P-n-S said, coordinate (quickly) with other officers (and hopefully the kids) to shoot the guy in the head/neck and catch his body.

Then, while the other 2 officers evacuate the children who are not taped to grenades, try to defuse the timed bomb. I'd have no idea what I was doing so I would cut 1 random wire at a time and hope for the best.

Next, cut the grenade string off his leg and untape the grenades from the kids. Get the rest of the kids out of there, leave with them, and wait for bomb squad to clean up the rest.

[Lawenforcer72]

Well in the words of a wise instructor "Its a bad day to be a cop" Best thing you can do is keep someone with gun on suspect get all the children without grenades out of there. Mace the suspect so his vision goes out, put him in a rear naked choke until he passes out. Unarm the kids with granades and run the hell out of there. Before you get out of the door though, shoot him in the leg so he can endure as much pain as possible before he dies.

[Dinosaur32]

Since this is an unsolvable scenario, try to find some ultra liberal teachers and get them between you and the perp. And don't forget to note the time.

[1042 Trooper]

Since this is an unsolvable scenario, try to find some ultra liberal teachers and get them between you and the perp. And don't forget to note the time.

Although I always appreciate your negative input into my posts, Dino, this one did happen here in Wyoming about 20 years ago. Matter of fact they made a TV movie about it.

It was resolved, with only the nut and one other person killed.

That said, I'll reserve the "rest of the story" to allow for a few more, less pesemistic suggestions to filter in.

[Redders]

You could taser him so many times that he has a heart attack, or is paralyzed.

Ohhhhh boooeeeeyyyy... Tell me this is sarcasim.