It started as a fun and sunny day at the beach and ended in a gruesome bloodbath that nobody saw coming...
15 people shot dead, dozens more injured, after 2 crazed assailants went on a 10-minute-long shooting rampage on Australia's famous Bondi Beach. The terror attack was a stark reminder that a mass shooting can happen when - and where - you least expect it. While we can’t always predict a tragedy like this, there are some things we can do to prepare ourselves for if/when it does happen.
In the wake of the Bondi terror attacks, a former sniper is one of the experts who has been dishing out free advice on what to do should you ever find yourself in an active shooting situation. He also explains exactly how to locate the shooter so that you can act accordingly.
Bored Panda has gathered a bunch of expert advice, including his, for anyone who would rather be safe than sorry. You’ll find it all below. But we hope you will never actually need to use it.
15 dead, dozens more injured, after 2 crazed gunmen went on the rampage on Australia's Bondi Beach
Image credits: The Yuri Arcurs Collection / freepik (not the actual photo)
A former sniper has outlined what to do should you ever find yourself in a similar situation
Image credits: cfh_unfiltered
Image credits: cfh_unfiltered
Image credits: cfh_unfiltered
Image credits: cfh_unfiltered
Image credits: cfh_unfiltered
Watch the former sniper's full video here:
In a follow-up video, he explained exactly how to locate the shooter so you can act accordingly
Image credits: cfh_unfiltered
Image credits: cfh_unfiltered
Image credits: cfh_unfiltered
Here's part 2 of his video series
Many welcomed the advice but were sad that this is where we find ourselves
Run, hide, fight: the most important rule that could save your life
Image credits: Jakub Żerdzicki / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Image credits: sternvern
There have been almost 400 mass shootings in the U.S. over the past year
The Gun Violence Archive defines a mass shooting as "an incident where four or more people are injured or killed, not including the shooter."
The Rockefeller Institute of Government goes a bit more in-depth. It defines a mass shooting as an incident of targeted violence carried out by one or more shooters at one or more public or populated locations.
"Multiple victims (both injuries and fatalities) are associated with the attack, and both the victims and location(s) are chosen either at random or for their symbolic value," explains the site. "The event occurs within a single 24-hour period, though most attacks typically last only a few minutes. The motivation of the shooting must not correlate with gang violence or targeted militant or terroristic activity."
The Institute's Mass Shooting Fact Sheet states that you're most likely to be caught in a mass shooting at work or school, but they can happen anywhere, as we saw with the Bondi Beach attacks. These incidents happen more on weekdays than on weekends. And the majority of perpetrators (94.7%) are male, with an average of 34.5 years old.
According to Forbes magazine, there have been 393 mass shootings in the United States over the past year. While that's down by 20% from the same time period last year, it's still a high number. "A total of 348 people have been killed in mass shootings in 2025, the lowest year-to-date number since 336 people were killed in 2018," adds Forbes.
"Since 1966, 1,728 people have been killed and 2,697 injured in mass public shootings. These statistics translate to an average of 3.4 people killed and 5.3 people injured in each mass public shooting event," reports the Rockefeller Institute.
While America has bad reputation for being a hotbed for mass shootings, some of the worst ones have happened elsewhere. 148 people lost their lives in Kenya in 2015, at the hands of the Somali terrorist group al-Shabab. Four gunmen stormed the Garissa University, targeting students and staff who self-identified as Christians.
That same year, ISIS went on a 2-day reign of terror in Paris, France. 130 people died and 494 were injured by the assailants who who used assault rifles and explosives. Innocent bystanders in restaurants, a concert hall, a sports stadium, and on the sidewalks were defenceless.
"My teacher threw a chair": people shared their own personal experiences and reactions
Image credits: sternvern
Others shared their own advice on how to survive a shooting and minimize the number of casualties
Image credits: anon