Far too often, innocent people find themselves hostages. It can, and does happen. And while it may be much easier to say than do, it is important to remain calm. The combat breathing I teach can help you with this. You don’t want to do or say anything, especially in the first five minutes when an abductor is most on edge. However, there are things you can do to improve your chances of survival. There are three types of hostage takers that most people will have to worry about. These are career criminals, terrorists, and mentally unstable people. Career criminals are the least worrisome because they usually take hostages as a way to get away with their crimes. Make no mistake, these people are still dangerous. However, their motives are different from terrorists and mentally disturbed people because their main objective is usually not to kill the hostages. It’s a different story with terrorists and the mentally unstable. These people most often take hostages with the intent of taking lives. It’s important to recognize the difference because the response for each will be different.
What To Do If You’re Taken Hostage:
Stay Calm
As I said above, this is easier to say that do, but you must try and calm yourself. This is critical to your survival. Again, breathe! Think of surviving. Focus on the good you have to survive for. This could be family, friends, or anything else that will motivate you to do what is necessary to survive the ordeal. Remaining calm with a survivor’s mindset is crucial.
Pay Attention
Be as observant as you can without drawing unwanted attention your way. Try to determine what kind of situation you are in and what kind of hostage taker or takers you are dealing with. Look for exits and escape routes, places that offer cover, potential weapons, and anything else you might be able to use to your advantage. Observe your captors and take note of things such as:
- How many are there are how are they armed?
- How prepared are they? Is this planned out and well-orchestrated or something that was spontaneous? Do they seem trained?
- What is their emotional state? Watch for changes. Changes in emotional states can provide clues to help you determine your risk of being killed.
- Look for weaknesses you might be able to exploit.
- Watch for them to drop their guard. The longer a situation continues, the more likely they will lower or drop their guard. Paying attention may alert you to an opportunity for escape.
- Pay attention for signs the situation might turn worse. If you sense they are about to start killing, you won’t have any choice but to act. Immediately attacking back might be your only chance of survival.
Don’t Look The Hostage Taker In The Eye
Terrorists, and even criminal kidnappers and hostage takers, are nervous. This is especially true in the early minutes of their action. That’s one of the reasons you should stay calm, in their state they are easy to set off. Terrorists will often kill a hostage early on in the attack to make a point and prove to the other hostages he means business. It is a way to show authorities he’s willing to do anything and to make them understand he’s not fooling around. Human lives are of little consequence to terrorists. This is why you don’t want to look your abductor in the eye. Never do it. Direct eye contact is often viewed as defiance and the defiant ones run a higher risk of being killed.
Don’t Try To Negotiate Or Do Anything That Would Make You Stand Out From Your Fellow Hostages
Terrorists often want to send a message to the authorities to fulfill a need to demonstrate their power and control over the hostages and the situation. This is a reason they may make an example of one of their captives by murdering him or her in cold blood. The person may be picked at random, or the person may be picked because they did something earlier that drew attention to themselves. Keeping a low profile and not standing out is important for your survival in a hostage situation. Go along with whatever the terrorists want you to do, and act passively. Be cooperative as much as possible.
Of course, there may be situations where you want to draw the terrorists to you rather than have them do something to one of the others in the group. This can be a noble gesture, but also a deadly one. It will be up to each person to know who they might step up and die for.
Contact The Police If Possible
If you can safely contact the police, do so. Just be careful to not do something that will draw unwanted attention to yourself. If possible, dial 911 on your cell phone and then hide it. Leaving the line open can provide law enforcement with extra information regarding what is going on inside. Just be certain that you can do this without being caught by the hostage takers. They may punish you for it, and that could include killing you.
Always Be Looking For An Opportunity To Escape
With a career criminal hostage taker, you may be able to wait for law enforcement negotiators to resolve the situation. Most times in these situations it is wise to wait. Authorities will have the place surrounded, surveillance devices are being used, and law enforcement snipers will be in position. However, with terrorists and mentally unstable hostage takers, their goal may be a large body count, and your chances of survival may be low. There is no talking to some of these people, and you must always be looking for a way to escape. You can’t rely on others to defuse the situation and rescue you. You can hope for that, but you better be doing something else for yourself at the same time. If you see an opportunity to flee, take it. It may be your only chance at survival. When all else fails, and there is no way to escape, you must prepare yourself to take the terrorist out any way you can.
If You Can’t Escape, Attack Back
With terrorists or the mentally unstable, if you can’t escape and it looks like things are getting worse (think of the planes on Sept 11, 2001), the only option you have left is to fight. Attack back with everything you have available. This is the same strategy as with active shooter situations. If all the hostage taker wants is dead bodies, it is up to you to stop him. When it is act or die, you don’t have a choice. Look for your best opportunity to take the hostage taker out and do it. Again, this is for those situations when there really is no other option.
What To Do If The Police Come In
If the police storm in, get down. Stay low and find cover. It will be sudden chaos. Police will come in when negotiations break down or they believe there is an immediate threat to the hostages. When it happens, there will be loud noises and bullets flying. Stay low and try to get behind something that will provide cover. If ordered to do something by law enforcement, do it. Always let them see your hands. Remember, they don’t know who is necessarily good or bad yet.
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