# Factual question about hostage situations **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 17, 2022, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-question-about-hostage-situations/957941 "2022-01-17T18:23:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pianodave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e79b87/32.png) [@pianodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pianodave)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2022, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-question-about-hostage-situations/957941/1 "2022-01-17T18:23:22Z")
Hi SD, Gonna cut to the chase with this one. The hostage situation in TX was 11 hours long. How does the hostage taker go to the bathroom? Not only in terms of the heightened emotions and danger causing the bowels or bladder to overreact, but logistically too. Would he just go to the bathroom in front of everyone? He certainly wouldn’t say “stay here while I take a leak.” And how does he handle hostages who need to go too? I asked a while ago about guards and prisoners with this topic concerning POW camps and the like. But this is only one guy, and nature has to call at some point. Incidentally, going to the bathroom is a private act. Fight my ignorance, please! ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2022, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-question-about-hostage-situations/957941/2 "2022-01-17T18:30:13Z")
I believe there were only 4 hostages, and one was set free relatively early. What I would do is march the 3 or 4 hostages into the bathroom, have them face a wall, pee with my gun pointing at them while warning them that I would shoot if anybody moved. If a hostage wanted to go to the bathroom, I would peak into the bathroom to make sure there was no window to escape through, and let them go. Trying not to forget that there is someone in there. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2022, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-question-about-hostage-situations/957941/3 "2022-01-17T18:39:16Z")
The man with the gun pisses wherever he wants. In a cup, in his pants or on the wall. If you are putting a gun to someones head what is a little lack of privacy in your final hours on earth? ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2022, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-question-about-hostage-situations/957941/4 "2022-01-17T20:09:29Z")
If you want a factual answer, it seems it would have to come (directly or indirectly) from someone who has been in that situation, either as a hostage or as a hostage taker. So the first thing any respondent in this thread should do is to tell us how they know the answer. ---
**Author:** ![pianodave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e79b87/32.png) [@pianodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pianodave)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2022, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-question-about-hostage-situations/957941/5 "2022-01-17T20:22:27Z")
That sounds like logical reasoning to me. The speculation sounds logical too, though. It’s interesting how mundanity and our shared human experience can manifest in a tense and horrible situation. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2022, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-question-about-hostage-situations/957941/6 "2022-01-17T23:02:07Z")
It’s not an issue if you have one or more people involved, assisting you in your hostage-taking action. ---
**Author:** ![AZRob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/azrob/32/3003_2.png) [@AZRob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AZRob)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2022, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-question-about-hostage-situations/957941/7 "2022-01-17T23:15:00Z")
PianoDave, I never worked a hostage situation like that one, but I was a local police crisis negotiator and team leader for a dozen years of my 22 year law enforcement career. And I can tell you that there is no “normal.” From my experience with barricaded subjects, they are very rarely as rational as what you might see in the movies. And they are almost always impaired by drugs, alcohol, or both, and, dealing with mental crisis of some sort. Regarding the bathroom, there would be many approaches. And the victims are often too scared and/or terrorized to be able to take advantage of what you might think is an opportunity for action. Hope that helps a bit, AZRob ---
**Author:** ![pianodave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e79b87/32.png) [@pianodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pianodave)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2022, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-question-about-hostage-situations/957941/8 "2022-01-17T23:15:27Z")
Not with two or more, but one is the hypothetical here. ---
**Author:** ![a6ka97](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c2a13f/32.png) [@a6ka97](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a6ka97)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-question-about-hostage-situations/957941/9 "2022-01-18T14:45:03Z")
I would think a well planned hostage taker in for the long haul would be wearing some sort of adult diapers. ---
**Author:** ![pianodave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e79b87/32.png) [@pianodave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pianodave)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-question-about-hostage-situations/957941/10 "2022-01-18T15:29:13Z")
I am more curious about the ability to actually discharge a weapon or defend oneself while vulnerable in that way. I guess logic and rationality don’t really enter into a fraught situation like this, as has been stated previously. ---
**Author:** ![DavidNRockies](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidnrockies/32/6279_2.png) [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-question-about-hostage-situations/957941/11 "2022-01-18T15:32:24Z")
I can imagine circumstances in which it would be relatively simple to lock the hostages in a room for a short period of time. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-question-about-hostage-situations/957941/12 "2022-01-18T16:35:51Z")
See, this is why the Dope is full of the brightest minds on the web, because it appears that your typical hostage taker hasn’t given this enough thought. A casual Google search reveals [THIS](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/wbna11531871) > [@](#): > > Phoenix hostage standoff ends peacefully > > A hostage situation in a Phoenix high-rise ended peacefully Thursday night when the gunman surrendered and his captives were released, a police spokesman said… > > A few hours into the standoff a female captive escaped by saying she had to go to the bathroom and another was allowed to leave. And there’s also [THIS](https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/man-frees-kansas-judge-after-hourslong-hostage-standoff/) > [@](#): > > Man frees Kansas judge after hourslong hostage standoff… > Authorities said the standoff began shortly before 7 a.m., when the 33-year-old armed suspect toting a backpack forced his way into 61-year-old Wendell Wurst’s Garden City home and confronted the couple. > > The intruder ordered Wurst, Finney County’s chief judge, to the ground and bound his hands, Garden City Police Chief Michael Utz said. Wurst’s 62-year-old wife was allowed to use the bathroom, where she called police on her cellphone, Utz said. In fairness to the hoi pilloi, at least [ONE](https://krcrtv.com/amp/archive/woman-recalls-hostage-situation-featured-on-tv-show) hostage taker on page 1 of my Google search had some critical thinking skills. > [@](#): > > Woman recalls hostage situation featured on TV show… > Banks said she couldn’t even go to the bathroom without fearing for her life. > > “My daughter had to use the restroom. [The gunman] escorted us with a rifle on our back,” said Banks. “We get to the restroom and we use it. He’s standing there with a gun watching us. He wouldn’t let us shut the door.” ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2022, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/factual-question-about-hostage-situations/957941/13 "2022-01-18T16:55:50Z")
[Here’s](https://www.11alive.com/amp/article/news/investigations/the-reveal/held-hostage-georgia-halfway-house-system-failures/85-b617a738-1b12-4ae4-adf7-45a5e9cb1f3b) a case where the hostage taker had to handle being outnumbered by his captives. These types of drug addled maniacs can be nothing if not resourceful. > [@](#): > > According to police reports and 911 dispatch recordings, Malone forced Cahall and two other roommates to sit on a couch all night. They could only use the bathroom in a pot in the living room. > > “He put the gun up to my side and said, you’re not (expletive) going anywhere,” said Cahall. “And I begged him, I begged him to please let me go.” My search of news articles doesn’t seem to find the scenario where it’s the hostage taker who has to pee, but I can imagine (in this case) that the pot is for communal use. Diapers (mentioned upthread) are another viable option. More importantly, what I get from my searching is that you should always ask to use the bathroom if you are taken hostage, as that’s the most viable means of escape. > [@](#): > > Wisconsin high school hostage standoff ends after five hours as armed student shoots himself… > Terrified Marinette High School students did their best to keep the 15-year-old gunman calm, spending hours talking to him about hunting and fishing, said student Zach Campbell - one of five hostages who were released after convincing the teen they had to use the bathroom. [https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/wisconsin-high-school-hostage-standoff-ends-hours-armed-student-shoots-article-1.450662?outputType=amp](https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/wisconsin-high-school-hostage-standoff-ends-hours-armed-student-shoots-article-1.450662?outputType=amp)