Surveillance video of the Crossroads Mall stabbing attack and the successful response by Jason Falconer, the firearms instructor and part time police officer, has revealed many previously unknown details of the event. They show that a determined attacker can absorb many hits before they are finally stopped.
The attacker used two kitchen knives. The have blades of about five inches. Given their design, I wouldn’t be surprised to find cuts on the attackers hands from his own blades.
A practical response at the Northwoods Candy Emporium illustrates the effectiveness of barriers against attackers with contact weapons. An unnamed, quick-thinking defender pulled down the gate to the store, denying the attacker access only moments before he would have gained entry. That portion of the video is very blurry, but the defender goes into a back room and comes out with something in his right hand. It might be a personal defensive weapon.
We’ve also learned that Jason Falconer was approached by the attacker, knives in hand, and asked if he was a Muslim. The attacker then came at him, and Falconer produced his weapon. The attacker then fled, with Falconer in pursuit.
Falconer is seen running after the attacker in a Macy’s store. The attacker turns down an aisle, then stops, and gets down on the floor. He then jumps up and charges at Falconer. Falconer fires and retreats, backing up at right angles to the attacker. Just after Falconer fires another shot, and the attacker goes down, Falconer trips going backward, and falls down himself, eerily similar to Kim Woodman falling backward while firing on a charging brown bear earlier this year.
It isn’t over yet. Falconer gets back up, and displays his badge. The attacker manages to regain his feet. The two engage in a cat and mouse dance among the displays. It looks as if Falconer is expecting the attacker to go back down, but he keeps on moving. Then in a grotesque, Monty Pythonesque attack, he comes at Falconer again.
Falconer is forced to backpedal as the attacker comes at him. The attacker spins around and comes at Falconer by fast walking backward at him. Falconer is forced to shoot at least twice more. It is easy to see how defenders may end up shooting attackers in the back. This video is likely to be used in court in many future shooting defenses.
If you only look at stills from that sequence, it appears as if Falconer is pursuing the attacker and shooting him as he runs away. In fact, the opposite is happening. The attacker is advancing backward with Falconer retreating as he fires. It is a good example of how images can fool the eye.
We’re told that Falconer hit the attacker a total of six times. The attacker finally died of exsanguination (bleeding out). The caliber, make and model of Falconer’s pistol hasn’t been made available yet, but from the blurry shots we’ve seen it looks very GLOCKish.
©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
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