Regular people learning to fight mass shooters

Ordinary people learned how to fight back against potential mass shooters using a martial art called Krav Maga, Saturday.

Law enforcement and everyday people met at the Colorado State Patrol headquarters in Golden to practice how to disable someone attempting to harm the public.

"When the attacks start, even if the police are called that minute, it's going to take some time to respond," said James Hiromasa, co-owner of Colorado Krav Maga. "In the three to five minutes that it takes them to get there, people can be injured or killed."

The idea is that witnesses to the attack may be able to intervene before police arrive, tackling or disarming the attacker.

"If someone comes in with a gun and they start shooting, really all of their power is in that gun," said Hiromasa. "When someone starts wrestling that away from them, they have change the way they think, they have to change what they're doing."

Hiromasa suggests operating under his ABCs of mass attacks: Avoid the situation by fleeing, Barricade yourself from the attacker and finally, Combat the attack and keep them from harming others.

Krav Maga is an Israeli form of self-defense for close hand-to-hand combat. Trainers instructed students to use the help of others to take down a suspect with a gun and hold them until police arrive. They use a number of techniques including take downs and strikes.

"Hopefully we can get a lot of good guys, a lot of good civilians so we can stop what's going on lately," Hiromasa said.

"Whether or not there's an actual attack happening, it's constantly teaching you situational awareness and getting you involved with what's happening in your community," said Leah Young who was participating in the training.