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What to do if there is a killer on your train

8 Comments

Chances are you were not on the Osaka-bound Nozomi No. 265 shinkansen earlier this month when a man with a hatchet slashed passengers at random, killing one and wounding another.

But what would you have done if you had been? Or if you’re in harm’s way the next time something similar happens, or the time after that?

 “It didn’t matter who (the victims) were,” the 22-year-old suspect, Ichiro Kojima, reportedly told police. Whatever his motives, and those of like-minded individuals, indiscriminate violence in public places is a fact of life that forces the question on us: What would we have done? What should we do if ever, in future, a humdrum train, bus or plane trip suddenly turns apocalyptic? 

Shukan Post (June 29) considers the matter in some detail. What to do? Three basics emerge: (1) escape; (2) hide; (3) fight – the last resort, and only as much as necessary to facilitate escape.

Nozomi passengers, following orders from crew members, used removable seat cushions as shields. They had actually been designed with easy cleaning in mind, but seem to have done good service in this emergency.

“If the shinkansen is running, there’s simply no getting off the train,” says risk management consultant Hajime Marutani, stating an obvious but chilling fact. You might, if fortunately situated, be able to slip into another car, or into a toilet. If an emergency buzzer is handy, press it. It’s camera-linked; the conductor will know immediately which car is in trouble. Another chilling thought is the narrowness of shinkansen aisles. A panicking mob quickly clogs them. Keep that seat cushion handy, Marutani advises.

What if an attack erupts in a subway car? Security expert Yuichi Kanai, who has worked as a bodyguard, stresses prevention. Be alert, be aware of your surroundings. “If you see someone mumbling to himself, or glaring at people, if anything about the person strikes you as weird, you might want to move away, even if it means having to stand.”

Certainly there are fates worse than standing. Should worse come to worst, says Kanai, take stock of possible weapons at hand. An umbrella? It makes a good sword, in a pinch – but remember, he says, echoing Marutani: your purpose is not to teach the perpetrator a lesson, just to keep him (or her) away from you. Briefcase? That’s good too. Don’t hold it close to your chest, he says, as people generally seem to. Wave it about, make yourself unapproachable. Even thick manga magazines are better than nothing. Is there a fire extinguisher in the vicinity? The Tokyo Metro has one in every car. Other subways may not, but if one is within reach, seize it and wield it for all you’re worth.

What if you’re on a plane? That’s the ultimate horror: 50 meters of open space and nothing to escape into, except maybe a toilet, if you’re very lucky. Since 2004, Japanese airlines have employed sky marshals – armed and ready to spring into action. But there’s not one on every flight, and whether there’ll be one on yours when trouble strikes is impossible to foresee. The assigning of sky marshals is not random, but just what the criteria are no one is saying.

If a hijacker with an ice-pick or some such implement materializes in mid-flight, rule number one is, “Don’t panic,” which is easier said than done, but your life could well depend on it. “Just stay quiet and do everything you’re told,” is the advice Shukan Post hears from aviation journalist Yoshitomo Aoki.

 As for rule number two – there doesn’t seem to be one.

© Japan Today

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

8 Comments
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I saw a photo of the nerdy little dweeb that did it. Looks like he'd be knocked over if you so much as sneeze on him. In this case, a skinny little otaku dweeb like that, option 3 becomes a higher possibility

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Keep distance between you and the knife, get off at next stop.Tackling someone with a knife is not smart.....

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Arm all passengers with guns like in the US. It could turn into a shootout like at the OK Corral...LOL.

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

Cowering in a corner, like a weasel always seems to work well.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

It's a train. Hiding is not much of an option. Nor is running away, as eventually you would have a bottleneck. Having more than 1 brave soul subdue the attacker would be ideal, rather than 1 person risking their life and the rest watch in awe.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

It's easy to say from behind your monitor that you would jump the guy, but in reality it is completely different. We hope that we will have the courage to jump and subdue him but most of us would be scared I guess. I hope I never have to make that decision.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

keep staring at your phone screen. if you can't see him, he can't see you.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

This article was tid bits of limited information, most people would want to be quiet and hide as best you can and not draw any attention to yourself but if the attacker notices you and starts your direction the best (and possibly only) chance you have is to fight with whatever weapon you have available, it may end up being your feet or fists but to do nothing at that point is to accept your fate.

Hopefully others would join in and the assailant over powered, there are numerous instances in which that has happened or even a single passenger has been able to subdue a passenger.

A fire extinguisher can also be very useful if the pin is pulled and the contents discharged into the face.

In the U.S nobody carries a gun onboard a flight (exception: air marshal's) but lord pity the fool that stands up and tries to hijack the flight with a knife in this day and age.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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