Mumbai, Nairobi, Boston, Martin Place, Peshawar, and Paris. What do all of these places have in common? They have all been victimized by the same terror tactic, a tactic which is difficult to fight. The dramatic September 11, 2001 terror attacks cost the terrorist operatives about $500,000 and countless man hours of flight training and planning to effectively implement. The ongoing terror attacks in Paris and the other places mentioned, cost little in terms of money, training and planning, but cost us an unimaginable amount in terms of precious lives and security costs. We must all remember that we are dealing with savages who are only interested in death and carnage. There will be no negotiations and no egress plan; these savages will die in the process of bringing death and destruction to others.

Although there is no reason to live in fear, or use these incidents to dissolve constitutional liberties, it is now the responsibility of business owners, school administrators, stadium and theater owners in population centers to, at a minimum, have a basic security plan for both a shelter-in-place and an evacuation scenario. If possible, make sure that you make contact with your police department’s community affairs liaison and ask them how you can assist in the unlikely, but possible, circumstance that your city or town is targeted by a small-arms tactical assault.

Some additional steps you can take which would cost you little but would benefit you greatly:

1. Have floor plans of your business readily available both at the business or location, in electronic format, and in an off-site location, in the unlikely event that your business or location is part of any attack, law enforcement officials will need these plans to effectively strike back.
2. Disregard all of the politically-driven narratives and do whatever you can do to legally obtain a concealed carry permit. Small-arms tactical attacks by terrorists will never be countered by begging, pleading, telling them you’re a gun-control supporter, or by spewing foul-language at them. These men and women are obsessed with death and have zero-interest in gun “control” laws. They will obtain the weapons they need to carry out their perverse mission; the only relevant question is “will you obtain yours to fight back?”
3. High-quality video cameras are affordable and easy to install and will assist law enforcement not only with the identification of terrorists and criminals, but also with the identification of the tactics they are using.
4. Do whatever you can, within reason, to make your big business, school, stadium or theater, “small.” A terrorist involved in a small-arms tactical attack needs to move to implement maximum carnage. Movement is the terrorist’s best friend and your worst enemy. Anything from remote door locks, to cheap door chocks, to security gates at strategic locations can make your big location “small” and restrict movement and buy you and law enforcement, time to respond.

There’s no need to panic and live in fear but there is a need to recognize the savages we are fighting and do everything we can, within reason, to “harden up” our soft targets and make the United States as unappealing a target as possible.