**I had to split my question into several parts**
 Today my wife delegated the responsibility of getting my oldest daughter to school to me. We live just three short blocks from her school so we walk pretty much rain or shine (barring a monsoon).
 I have been trying to be what I consider "100%" with my commitment to carrying this entire year. To me it simply means that I will carry 100% of the time that I am legally able to. This includes being at home, minus sleeping (of course) and before I get dressed in the morning. During these two times I have a firearm easy accessible to me, while still unavailable to my two young daughters.
 As I live in the Willamette Valley, just south of Portland Oregon, cool and rainy weather is the norm this time of year. I prefer and actually quite enjoy this weather, for a number of reasons. First I am a complete wuss when it comes to heat, anything over 70 and I am secretly cursing the warmth. I say secretly because if I did it aloud I think most people would actually wish me dead on the spot...many non-native Oregonians act like they expect it to be like San Diego here and are less than pleased when it isn't. But I digress...I also enjoy the cooler weather because it allows me the opportunity carry a larger framed gun under a jacket.
 This morning was cool so I opted for my largest frame handgun, a S&W Vtac M&P 9mm, and a jacket. I always walk her to her class and need my concealment to be of the highest concern as I don't want any uninformed/uneducated people seeing "a man with a gun" in a school. As it is legal in the state of Oregon to carry in a school with a CHP, but most people have ZERO knowledge of what is legal. We were in a bit of a hurry as we were running about 5 minutes late. We hustled to school and walked her to class and off she went. My wife had already left for work and had taken our two year old with her, so I had some time to kill. I decided to walk to our neighborhood cafe to grab a cup of coffee.

I live in a small town and there are two elementary schools, the physical location is kind of odd, they are right next two each other. My path to the cafe takes me past my daughters school and skirts along the other elementary school. As I clear my daughter's school I am approaching a small intersection. On my side of the sidewalk, with his back to me there is a man simply standing, seemingly just looking at the other school. I took notice of him instantly as the street and surrounding areas were completely devoid of any other activity. I intentionally scuff the soles of my shoes lightly on the sidewalk  to announce my presence rather than startle him as I approached from his six. As I did this he looked back, saw me and immediately started walking towards the school, in the same direction I was. He was about 5'8", thin, wearing jeans, a grey hooded sweatshirt with the hood up. I thought this behavior was odd and instantly decided to remember his appearance and events up to this point. I cross the street just as good measure. I keep an eye on him as he is in front of me and the only other person around. Instead of walking past the school he walks through the school grounds. This seemed quite odd and out of place to me. He looked to be thirty ish and would know that you should not be on school grounds unless you have specific business there, clearly he did not and his odd behavior made me very curious. I watched him as long as I could until he disappeared from view.

Now seeing all of this and thinking his actions were strange I still assumed that I was being overly critical and continued walking. As I clear the school is begin to hear some loud and muffled bangs in the distance. Instantly the hairs on my neck stood up, I stopped and listened very carefully. I heard the sounds again and realized that they were from something other than a firearm. Although somewhat similar. My mind started to race as I walked towards the cafe. I was trying to figure out what actions would I would have taken if the scenario was real, should take and my responsibility as a responsibly armed citizen. I am NOT trying to spark a debate about wanna be DEVGRU guys or Rambo type scenarios. Just simply what would you do? In what order?
 Here are more facts about what I had available to me at the time. My phone had about 7% batter life. Enough for about 10 minutes of talk time. I had 17 rounds in my pistol plus one 17 round reload on my hip.
 Would you stay put and call police? The police station is only 4 blocks away. But each shot you hear could be a child or teacher being targeted. Do you enter the school? When you call 911 your battery is dying, how do you clearly state what is happening, do you start with your description and that you are armed so responding officers don't shoot you first or do you start with the description of the man you saw? He may not even be the shooter. Even if you do tell dispatch your description do they believe you?  Do you draw your weapon and try to help evacuate students and staff while offering some protection? Do they believe you oreally believe that you are the shooter?

Of course all of these questions are impossible to answer "correctly" as opinion and differing beliefs play in to the scenario. These just ran through my head as it seemed like a reality for a split second this morning and I wasn't mentally prepared for such a complex problem. I like to run these "fake" scenarios in my head after I see a real world potential issue. I try to figure the sequence and could I perform these tasks under extreme pressure/stress. Most of the solutions do not include shooting. Most conclusionsuccessful end with escape and calling the calvary. But 99% of these scenarios I have my children and or my wife with me and they are my first protection priority. But this "fake" scenario was devoid of this, up to a point. You could argue that going back to my daughters school and grabbing her and going home to escape any danger or potentially engaging the threat is protecting your somewhat nearby child.
 I have fallen into rambling. Sorry. Please respond with your ideas to help me add to my mental exercise.

You saw a guy walking. And your stupid overactive wannabe hero brain turned it into something its not. Stop carrying a pistol or youll be the next trayvon martin headline

Actually OP, I think you did ok. Sadly the world we live is/has become more cluttered with human vermin thx to .gov et al. I go into condition yellow the moment I walk out the front door at home, and stay that way until I return. As observant as possible, and making mental notes on those around me and what they doing.

That being said, I would never initiate any overt action with out solid actual cause. And in that event, priority 1 is me (familly, friends etc). women and kids next with an eye towards getting them out of harms way, and lastly and ONLY if it is absolutely unavoidable would I attempt to intervene. That may be against conventional wisdom, the wrong way to do it or some other bulshit, BIDGAF. Co-witnessing sights is "Conventional Wisdom" BIDGAF There is a reason God gave us the fight and/or flight concept. True wisdom is knowing when to make the correct choice.

So rather than bustin' your chops, I thought I' just give you mtcw. Kudos again for step one
though. Keep yer head always on the swivel

I actually, mostly read that.

Sounds like you are wound a little tight.

I'll bet if you really tried, you could have used even more words.

TLDR (first time I've ever posted that)

good TL;DR for this post.

44-40pro:

Thanks for the feedback!

I am completely agree with you. That was my first instinct and the plan of action I would have taken, had it been a real incident. Probably just gone back, collected my daughter and gone home.

I was more posing the question to see what others would do. And to people who would intervene how they would deal with the problems that would arise.

I agree on your condition yellow observance also.

The way this thread was written proves this point.
After reading most of it, I would say the same. I am wound up most of the time.


My point of advice is to lurk more and watch how others post info. When I first joined forums I made the same mistake. Even now, I am still learning on how to type out my thoughts.
We all still have much to learn.

My advise is to relax; if I was walking to where I needed to go, I am taking the shortest path. If that means through a school play ground when kids are playing in it so be it.

Take up golf!

-10 for delivery +1 for concept

I have been venturing out reading other areas of the board but they all have GD tendencies.

All you had to say was, " I was walking near a school where I saw a guy walking similar to me and heard what sounded like gunshots."

What would you do?


All of the other stuff, and I do mean "stuff" was just needless info to make it seem like it was important..

This morning, I got in my car to go to work.  I heard on the news that a crime had been committed in Anchorage, 7 hours away.  Suppose the perp boarded an airplane, he could be here in 45 minutes. Using reverse planning, this gave me... 45 minutes to arm myself and harden my workplace environment from the impending threat.  I chose carefully from my arsenal.  Its cold in Alaska so under my puffy jacket I could conceal... ALL of my weapons. All of them. Then I stuffed my backpack with flashlights (not a lot of daylight up here) and ammunition.  All the ammunition.  I'm not trying to be Rambo.  

Allow me to introduce myself as Vigilant.  Hyper Vigilant.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO.

Proud of yourself for that reply Mox?  It's super useful.  See what I did there?  Geez, figure I'll land a warning or worse for this reply but sometimes it just has to be said.  Props to the OP for ignoring the trolls.

Considering that the thread is about a complete non-event fueled only by overreaction to non-threats/sounds, and asks the question on how others would react, it lends itself to an uneventful thread much like the scenario that spawned the discussion or lack thereof.

It's much like if someone made a thread about their dog barking in the middle of the night and seeing something moving outside the window only to discover that it was a tree branch swaying in the wind. Then proposed the question of how others would handle the situation based in unfounded fear.

Overreaction is one of the criticisms the anti-gun crowd has against gun owners. For those in the gun community to stifle such tendencies publicly is a positive thing.

I certainly have nothing against that thought/premise though I think your comparison is a bit off.  I also don't take issue with your wording.  It's posts like yours that are helpful.  Perhaps more of those could have made this into a useful discussion instead.

I read most of your thread but got bored after the question on page 3. While each situation is different if it happens do what you think is right. I would add that if you dial 911 on your phone there is a hidden reserve in most phones (I think it's required) that will allow you to talk much longer than you normally would given your 7% battery. Also it allows you connect to the cell network in places you may normally not be able to so it's something to consider. You probably have a 30-60min reserve talk time

Yeah a little. I laughed. As Im sure most people did reading the OP. This is a joke thread, right?

Just trollin the trolls, yo.

So, other than making story a little longer than it needs to be, sounds like OP is situationally aware and likes to be prepared.

He asks about a scenario, on a gun forum, and gets responses like "you should stop carrying a gun"

I say props for being aware in the first place. So many people I see every day have zero situational awareness.

I would have to say if I saw a somewhat suspicious person enter a school and then heard something that sounded like gunshots it would get my heart rate up.

I'm on the you saw a guy walking side, but it's interesting to see how you saw things. I'm sure we've all had the willies about something but it's neat to see it actually written up.

Lay off the coffee, you're too jittery as it is. The guy that told you to stop carrying was not far off the mark, you seem like a paranoid fellow that is trying to find trouble.

I have been a LEO for a while now and been to several active shooter training and response events, hosted by federal, state, and local agencies. All train to basically find and eliminate or contain the shooter(s). First, if you decide to respond in an armed way whatsoever, know that you have a strong chance of being shot by first responders. This is true for off duty and plain clothes LEOs that become involved, they run the same risk of being shot as the good intentioned armed citizen. Not everyone there with a gun is a bad guy, but anyone there with a gun could be a shooter. This has proven true in sim round training.

Your observations are fine. There is nothing wrong with walking through what-if scenarios in your mind, it is good practice.

I am glad you did not over-react and call 911 when you heard the pops and equally glad you did not go charging into the school with gun drawn to grab your kid.

Parents are naturally protective of their children (I have 3).

You would be a great witness if needed.

I would go get my daughter from class and get to safety. I am not LEO and he could move right to your daughters school and you'd really feel bad if she was a victim.

Mindset.

Equipment.

Skillset.

Reading this entire thread, I identify with Kilo-1-1, probably from a common LEO experience.

When I read the thread about the guy loading a SAArmy revolver while two guys open his front door, and then this one, i sorta wish oblivious and hyper vigilant averaged out.  

On the other hand, the OP asks a reasonable question in a reasonable way.  Life is a jumble of facts and events each of which influences decisions we make.  That the OP is aware and observant is a good thing.  I would rather read and sort the details as relevant or not compared to bare bones BS.  It is HIS thread and he can post it in his style.

My observation would be that despite the length, there were no facts saying, Take Action.

Taking a gun into a school has a lot of potential consequences:
-you will be arrested
-you will shoot or be shot by the school resource officer-policeman, an armed teacher, or responders in uniform.
-you will be the trigger event that sets off an otherwise unclear problem
-very few good things can happen

Lots of things you see in life are interesting.  Some are scary criminal looking.  Some are just trigger events for action.  Knowing the difference is one hell of a lot of LEO training and experience that the general wannabees just dont have.  Thinking through things is good.  It should almost always lead to inaction.  Clarity is rare.

I say that in spite of having taken two druggies off a captured state trooper roadside, caught a serious criminal who was escaping police, and caught two arsonists trying to burn a house.  Noteworthy because all occurred off duty.  Work was usually boring.

Generally, training says if unclear as to the situation, establish a safe position, observe, and report.  Being a witness sometimes is safer to the victims than barging in.  

But if its obvious innocents are at risk, WTF you gonna do is reasonable planning.

1).  Protect yourself
2).  Protect your family
3).  Protect people you are responsible for personally
4).  After that you are automatically on thin ice.

OP has been "over exposed" and/or just started carrying. Chill the fuck out bro. No need to walk around all paranoid and stuff.

This

In addition to carrying my Commander, I carry a DSLR everywhere I go.  Not a f**king i-potato, a proper DSLR.
Sometimes a camera is mightier than a gun.
If you think someone is a threat get a picture and file it away.  Chances are it's nothing.  But you never know.

Aside from using a hundred words when one will do I think the OP is just doing what I have read guys like Mcnamara advising to do in every day life. That is always be asking yourself "What am I going to do if..." It makes you think about options and how your choices limit or maximize those options. It also prepares your mind for if something does pop off its not completely out of left field and you are totally shocked. Which is exactly what it sounds like the OP was feeling when he heard what he initially thought could of been shots. That "Oh shit this is real" feeling.

I have never been anywhere or done anything but I have worked a couple jobs where a guy coming through the door with a gun to shoot the place up was a real possibility. I would say to myself often "If it happened right now what would you do? If its two guys what would you do?" It was as much to get my head around the fact it can happen as anything else. I have done it when I go to the movies,  when I go to gas station in the hood at night or generally anywhere I have seen or read about people shooting each other. This isnt a non stop thing. I dont have a Glock taped in a baggie in the shower. It takes a few seconds and its just filed away. Balance in all things. If some want to mock the idea of that and walk around happy because they have a J Frame in their pocket and IDGAF attitude thats on them.  

In this day and age unfortunately having a fully charged phone battery is nearly as important than the pistol you are concealing. You wouldn't leave the house with 7% of your ammunition in your magazines, and liability wise you are in a much better situation by calling a potential threat in than going to clarify yourself.

Youre doing it wrong. A little water isn't going to hurt a Glock