Active Shooter Bag Loadout

Recently I decided to put together what most refer to as an active shooter bag. The main reason that I decided to go ahead with this bag is not to prevent any Aurora style movie theater shootings where I could run to my truck and then back into the mall guns blazing, but mainly to and from locations if a need would arise.

Over the holidays there was a man gunned down on a highway that is only a few minutes away from where I work. The State Police claim that the incident was completely random, however have still not made any arrests in the case. The victim had made multiple calls to 911 as he crossed from Maryland into Pennsylvania. Originally he called to report a vehicle tailgating him, later he would call to report that the suspect was shooting at him. By the time the State Police arrived they found him dead in his vehicle crashed in the median.

As most of you know that have followed our other entries, I am a big fan of Fieldline bags and had a few lying around unused. For this project I chose my black sling bag. I chose the black for the same reason that my truck rifle’s bag is black, combined with the tinted windows and the black bags looking in the vehicle you can’t tell that there is even anything inside.

With many people starting to prep for various incidents a lot of people confuse the bags for one another. Active shooter bags should be just that what you need to deal with an active shooting incident, you are not walking miles afterwards, there is no need for food, water, compasses etc. Bullets and Band-Aids are the main components of this bag. You will notice that I added a few extra items and I will explain why. This is just my bag, feel free to customize yours as much as you would like.

On the outside of the pack I have three che lights, an Israeli bandage, and a patch with my blood type. The reason I threw chemlights on the pack is in case I ran into a situation on the roads you could potentially toss chemlights out the window leaving a trail or markers for police. Other people will use chemlights in a residential or urban setting for clearing rooms. Chemlights have a million uses and if you think outside of the box you can find any practical application for them.

On the outside compartment I have three spare magazines for my Glock 19, giving me a total round count of 61 rounds when combined with the magazine and round in the chamber that I carry as my ccw gun.

The main compartment contains the following:

10 - 4 x 4 gauze pads

I am not carrying the 4 x 4’s to provide simple care to those in need, as if they only need a 4 x 4 chances are they can treat themselves. The main advantage of carrying 4 x 4 gauze pads is that you can use the packaging in conjunction with the tape to treat a sucking chest wound. We will cover more on that in a later blog post. 

3 - Israeli bandages

Israeli bandages are great alternatives to tourniquets if you don’t absolutely need a TQ or don’t have one. Another benefit to Israeli bandages is the ease of use as well as the low cost. They can be found at my local surplus shop for $3.00 each.

1 – Roll of medical tape

As stated before, when used with the packaging from the 4 x4 can be an effective way to treat a sucking chest wound.

1 - Nasopharyngeal airway

Unlike the oral airway, the NPA is easier to insert, and will not stimulate a gag reflex from the patient. While the correct way to measure size is from the tip of the mouth to the ear, I keep trauma shears in case I need to trim it for a smaller patient.

2 - 30 round Pmags.

Combined with the 30 with my rifle, that gives me 90 rounds of primary ammo, while I would not go out on a patrol in Afghanistan with only 3 mags, chances are I wouldn’t get through one in an active shooter scenario. As history shows, unless you are the Hollywood bank robbers once the shooter is met with any form of resistance they generally take their own life.

1 - CAT Tourniquet

The CAT Tourniquet is great for single handed applications to yourself or others in the need that the Israeli wouldn’t be enough.

1 – Trauma Shears

As stated earlier to cut down the NPA, cut clothing or anything else that needs it.

I do not have a knife or flashlight in my kit as I carry a Spyderco Endura as part of my EDC gear. My rifle also has a weapon mounted light.

As with any other operation be sure to have the proper training before you run around administering first aid to those in need. If nothing else have someone that is at least BLS trained show you the proper way to use your medical items.