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.
Very few items make me change my plans when it comes to
firearm purchases. I had my mind set that my next project would be building or
buying an AK as I already have two receivers. One day while surfing through
Facebook I came across that product that would make me change my mind. 
