Dealing with armed attacks at close range

If an attack is launched from close range it is hardly possible to draw your weapon in time.

During none of the actual or attempted assassinations that have taken place during the last 25 years were the accompanying bodyguards able to use their firearms (e.g. attacks on Ronald Reagan, Pope John Paul II, Wolfgang Schäuble, Oskar Lafontaine, Richard von Weizäcker, Yitzhak Rabin).

In almost every case the attack was launched at very close range from a crowd of people. It came as a complete surprise to the protection squad, was usually not predictable and seldom lasted more than two or three seconds. All the bodyguards could do was to screen the usually severely wounded VIP or get him to safety (evacuation) in a car. The (usually successful) assassin was overpowered, disarmed and arrested. In every case the bodyguards needed First Aid material – but never their weapons.

Particularly for people in the public eye, such as politicians, media stars or sports personalities, the danger is greatest when walking or giving autographs in crowds of people. Here the attention of at least one accompanying bodyguard must be constantly devoted to any hands that reach out, and to what they may be holding. This enables him to respond at once if a weapon or other dangerous object appears.

For in the case of attacks taking place at distances of up to seven metres (!) it is not possible to make effective defensive use of a firearm carried in a concealed position. Tests have shown that even an expert pistol shot requires at least three to four seconds to react, draw the weapon from a holster concealed under his jacket and fire a shot. Within this time an assassin already on the move will have covered the short distance to his target and e.g. attacked it with a knife while the bodyguard is still trying to aim his weapon. In fact because of the risk to innocent bystanders, the use of a firearm is anyway completely unacceptable in such a situation (a jacketed bullet from a 9mm Parabellum pistol may penetrate two or three people in succession under certain circumstances!).

In Germany, even professional bodyguards who are licensed to carry a firearm are not permitted to do so at public events (election meetings, concerts, fairgrounds, etc.), the only exception being personal protection officers employed by the government or official bodies, e.g. members of police close protection units. For this reason alone it is important to carry out regular role-playing exercises with realistic scenarios during basic and advanced training, during which we repeatedly practice screening and evacuating the client as well as instantly going forward to disarm and overpower the attacker. Even in the case of an assassin armed with a firearm this gives us a chance to put him out of action at short distances without the need for a weapon of our own.

Wearing a concealed, lightweight ballistic vest (generally known as a bullet-proof vest) is just as important as instant intervention. Modern ballistic vests conforming to German protection class 1 can be relied upon to stop a jacketed bullet from a 9mm Parabellum pistol or .357 Magnum revolver even at point-blank range. With a weight of approx. two kilograms they are reasonably comfortable to wear, and the use of new materials even enables some to resist knife attacks.

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Your natural "weapons" are often the most suitable at close range.

Nonetheless, the training curriculum for any bodyguard should include a thorough knowledge of firearms and ammunition, as well as regular practice on a shooting range. This familiarises him/her with the operation and possibilities of a weapon, so that an incident involving a firearm can be more accurately assessed.

To avoid any misunderstandings:

There are many situations in professional personal protection where carrying and using a firearm is necessary as a last means of self-defence. Particularly where organised crime, extortion, death threats and transport security are concerned, any security operator worth his salt will be armed during the assignment. In some cases this is even prescribed by law or insurance terms. But in the case of a sudden armed attack on the client from close range, the maxim has to be: leave your weapon alone and go forward at once!

Text: Wolfgang Ockert