# Do military veterans or off duty cops respond to mass shootings differently
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-military-veterans-or-off-duty-cops-respond-to-mass-shootings-differently/838364
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [August 8, 2019, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-military-veterans-or-off-duty-cops-respond-to-mass-shootings-differently/838364 "2019-08-08T19:07:34Z")
**Posts on this page:** 3
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2019, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-military-veterans-or-off-duty-cops-respond-to-mass-shootings-differently/838364/1 "2019-08-08T19:07:34Z")
\*differently than the general public
I have no idea how people respond to mass shootings. I know it’s common for off duty cops, when the shit goes down, to take control of the situation and try to either gather evidence to take control. I assume those personality traits become ingrained to the point where even if you’re not a cop anymore or just at the store that side comes out.
In general how do veterans respond? Does it vary from combat veterans to non combat ones? If someone shoots up a public place do veterans tend to respond differently than the general public?
Im not even sure how the general public react. I assume they freeze or run for the most part.
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### Author:  [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2019, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-military-veterans-or-off-duty-cops-respond-to-mass-shootings-differently/838364/2 "2019-08-08T20:00:49Z")
I’m sure it varies from person to person. One data point:
> [@](#):
>
> There was at least one armed citizen at Cielo Vista Mall near the Walmart in El Paso during the shooting. Army Pfc. Glendon Oakley said in interviews that he was carrying a licensed handgun and drew it when he heard the gunshots on Saturday. “That’s what you do,” he told the military publication Task & Purpose. “You pull your gun, you find cover and you figure out what to do next.”
>
> But, he said he didn’t see the shooter and so instead focused on rescuing as many children as he could in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. “I was just focused on the kids, I wasn’t really worried about myself. So just put my head down and just ran as fast as I could,” he told CNN. “They were anxious, when they were in my arms, they were trying to jump out of my arms but trying to keep them as tight as possible. They are kids, so they don’t understand what is going on.”
from here: [Dayton and El Paso: 'Good Guys With Guns' Can Rarely Stop Mass Shootings | TIME](https://time.com/5644578/good-guys-with-guns-el-paso-dayton/)
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### Author:  [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)
#### Post date: [August 8, 2019, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-military-veterans-or-off-duty-cops-respond-to-mass-shootings-differently/838364/3 "2019-08-08T20:11:45Z")
I would expect combat veterans would respond very different from non-combat vets. I would probably help out in a fire, had lots of training and then was on fire teams post Navy with my jobs but I would be running/hiding if a shooter was spraying bullets.