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Effectively responding to an incident like that as an individual, especially as a private citizen, is exceedingly difficult. I'm not sure if armed citizens in the audience would have made much of a difference. (Statistically, at a large cineplex in Colorado, there were almost certainly a few off-duty law enforcement and armed private citizens in the building, if not in the theater.)The beginning of the attack sounds almost pathologically difficult -- during a movie where most of the audience is dressed up in quasi-military/police attire (Batman), someone entering with similar clothing wouldn't necessarily be out of place. During a scene in the movie where tear gas was deployed, someone tossed out a canister. At that point, a reasonable person would probably assume it was a prank, or maybe organized publicity for the movie -- it wouldn't even be appropriate to push someone out of the way to get to the floor.Based on the media reports, the shooter was in body armor, in a dark theater, and armed with a semiautomatic rifle, a shotgun, and pistols. This could all be seen as a costume with props, so no immediate response.Even once he started shooting, it wouldn't have been immediately clear that it wasn't just a (stupid and unsafe) staged event. Even if you saw random people in the audience fall, it could be a pre-planned staged event, so it's not like you could be fully confident in drawing and firing on the shooter even at that point. (There's a period where I'd be thinking "fucking movie studio, this is bullshit, I'm leaving and will publicize how stupid and unsafe this situation is, doing a fake shooting like this, could get someone killed" and leaving, but wouldn't have drawn and fired. Not sure how long that period would be, but probably between "oh, that's tear gas, not theatrical smoke" and "those are blanks and a real gun", but that might only be seconds before "oh, this is a real shooter.")Once a whole theater full of people panics and starts running for the exits, it's even more complex. It's not clear if there's more than one shooter, if there are other armed people in the crowd who may engage him, etc.Given that your average citizen is going to be carrying a 5-shot snub revolver or maybe a compact semi-automatic pistol, engaging someone wearing armor and armed with a rifle is going to be difficult to begin with. The chaotic situation makes it even more difficult.As an armed private citizen, your primary responsibility is for your own safety and that of your companions, so even once it was clear the guy was a threat, if you could duck out, that would be preferable to engaging. (If I were alone and armed, I'd be more likely to respond, although it would depend on a lot of factors). If it were "home invasion at night" or "someone runs into my office and starts shooting", that's a different situation than "I'm in a strange movie theater around a bunch of people I don't know, in a dynamic and confusing situation". On balance, I'd rather be armed than not, and have other responsibly armed people in the crowd, but it surely wouldn't be a magic bullet. It's entirely possible you could be armed and never draw in a situation like that and have made the right decision.One thing that is clear is that this incident will inform police and self defense training in the future, just like Columbine caused a revolution in tactics from "cordon and contain" to "active shooter response" worldwide.

Consider the case of Eddie Slovik. Eddie was a hellraiser from day one. He got into fights, broke into homes, he stole cars….you name it, he did it. And he did time for it.In fact, his behavior was so bad that when he tried to enlist in the Army in 1942 he was classified as morally unfit for duty. Eddie got married that same year and was unexpectedly reclassified as fit for duty and subsequently drafted.** Private Eddie Slovik, US ArmyAfter basic training, Slovik was assigned to Company G of the 109th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division, as a replacement. On his way to his unit he and a fellow replacement happened upon a Canadian military police unit and decided to remain with them for six weeks.The pair finally reported to their assigned unit on October 7th, 1944. It didn’t take Slovik very long to decide that serving in a front line rifle company was not for him. One day after reporting, he asked his company commander for reassignment to a unit in the rear. He informed his captain that he would run away if assigned to a rifle unit. His captain told Slovik that if he did that it would constitute desertion, then denied his request for a transfer and assigned him to a rifle platoon.The next day, October 9th, Slovik kept his word and deserted. He walked several miles towards the rear until he reached a headquarters detachment.Slovik approached one of their cooks and provided him with the following note:I, Pvt. Eddie D. Slovik, 36896415, confess to the desertion of the United States Army. At the time of my desertion we were in Albuff in France. I came to Albuff as a replacement. They were shelling the town and we were told to dig in for the night. The following morning they were shelling us again. I was so scared, nerves and trembling, that at the time the other replacements moved out, I couldn’t move. I stayed there in my fox hole till it was quiet and I was able to move. I then walked into town. Not seeing any of our troops, so I stayed over night at a French hospital. The next morning I turned myself over to the Canadian Provost Corp. After being with them six weeks I was turned over to American M.P. They turned me loose. I told my commanding officer my story. I said that if I had to go out there again I'd run away. He said there was nothing he could do for me so I ran away again AND I'LL RUN AWAY AGAIN IF I HAVE TO GO OUT THERE.—Signed Pvt. Eddie D. Slovik A.S.N. 36896415Slovik’s note made its way to the headquarters company commander who read it and told him to destroy it before he was taken into custody. Slovik refused. He was taken to a lieutenant colonel in the unit who told him if he would tear up his note and return to his unit no further action would be taken.Slovik, apparently immune to good advice, refused. The colonel instructed the private to write another note on the back of the first one stating that he understood the legal ramifications of deliberately incriminating himself and that his note could be used against him during a court-martial.At this point, Slovik was taken into custody and confined in the division stockade. A JAG (Judge Advocate General) officer met with him and offered Slovik one last chance to return to his unit with the promise that all charges against him would be dropped. He even went as far as to offer to transfer Slovik to another infantry regiment within the division where no one would know what he had done and thus enable him to start over with a clean slate.My guess is that the young private was thinking that he would only be facing jail time for his desertion. He was used to that and found it far more palatable than facing combat. Slovik denied this final chance to save his bacon and said:“I’ve made up my mind. I’ll take my court-martial.”He got his day in court on November 11, 1944, after being charged with desertion to avoid hazardous duty. His note regarding his intent to desert was presented to the officers of the court. Slovik elected not to testify. He was found guilty of the charges against him and was sentenced to death.Major General Norman Cota, the division commander, reviewed and approved the sentence. His thoughts on the matter were as follows:"Given the situation as I knew it in November, 1944, I thought it was my duty to this country to approve that sentence. If I hadn't approved it—if I had let Slovik accomplish his purpose—I don't know how I could have gone up to the line and looked a good soldier in the face."A surprised and frightened Slovik wrote a letter to General Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander, pleading for clemency.Turns out that Private Slovik picked the worst time possible to desert. The Germans were inflicting heavy casualties on Allied troops and morale in the Infantry was at an all-time low.General Eisenhower refused Slovik’s request for clemency noting that carrying out the sentence was necessary to prevent further desertions. This shocked Slovik because he had witnessed other deserters in his division being punished with a prison term and a dishonorable discharge.He had a message for his fellow soldiers who were to prepare him for the firing squad:They're not shooting me for deserting the United States Army, thousands of guys have done that. They just need to make an example out of somebody and I'm it because I'm an ex-con. I used to steal things when I was a kid, and that's what they are shooting me for. They're shooting me for the bread and chewing gum I stole when I was 12 years old.The order of the court was to be carried out near the village of Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines. Slovik’s uniform was stripped of all military insignia and he was given a blanket to protect him from the cold. The site of the execution was a home that had a high masonry wall surrounding its courtyard. This site was chosen because it would discourage curious villagers from watching the execution.Slovik was strapped to a six-inch (15cm) by six-inch (15cm) post using web belts. He was secured around his chest and arms as well as around his knees and ankles.The attending chaplain said to Slovik, “Eddie, when you get up there, say a little prayer for me.” Slovik replied, “Okay Father. I’ll pray that you don’t follow me too soon.” Those were to be his last words.The firing squad was made up of 12 soldiers from the 109th Regiment. The weapons used were M1 Garand rifles. Eleven of them were loaded with just one round and one rifle was loaded with a blank round.** Martin Sheen as Eddie Slovik in the 1974 film, The Execution of Private SlovikFollowing the command of “Fire”, Slovik was stuck by eleven bullets. There were wounds in his neck, left shoulder, left chest and under his heart. The Army physician on hand determined that Slovik had not been immediately killed. The firing squad was ordered to reload but that ultimately would not be necessary. Slovik died before they had a chance to shoot him a second time.The execution was carried out at 10:04 a.m. on January 31st, 1945.Edward Donald Slovik was 24 years old.Post Script: Private Slovik was the only American soldier to be court-martialled and executed for desertion since the American Civil war.Over 21,000 American soldiers were given varying sentences for desertion during WWII. These included 49 death sentences. Private Slovik’s was the only one that was carried out.

The (First) Pontianak Incident.In 1943, an underground resistance movement in Pontianak, West Borneo (now part of Indonesia) was “exposed” by Japanese authorities.In response, the Tokkeitai (The Imperial Japanese Navy’s military police) conducted a series of roundups in West Borneo throughout 1943–1944. Approximately 20,000 people — Malays, Chinese, Indians, Arabs, Dutch, Eurasians, and other Indonesian ethnic groups — were arrested. There was little to no attempt to sort out false accusations, and many were forced to sign “confessions” or blank papers in Japanese. Only few selected cases (reportedly 46 people) were subject to perfunctory trial.The rest were “sentenced” — or executed. Thousands of prisoners were rounded up at an unfinished airfield near Mandor, a small village in West Borneo, in the middle of the night. They had their heads covered by a sack, so they were unsure of what was happening. Then, they were decapitated and thrown into pits that the Japanese had prepared for this purpose or buried alive.Additional arrestees were gathered near the airport of Pontianak between December 1944 and February 1945. They were beheaded and buried in mass graves that they had been forced to dig themselves.These victims were well-educated people, businessmen, and prominent religious and community leaders. The local elite were not spared from this horrendous incident either. The Sultan of Pontianak died in prison, and 29 members of his family were executed, including the heir to the Pontianak throne. The sultans of other small kingdoms in West Borneo were killed by the Japanese, too.Allied military personnel would conclude later that this “plot” was “a figment of Japanese imagination” or a devious scheme to eliminate the local elite. Some scholars have pointed out the Chinese community was targeted specifically for their wealth. No evidence of any active resistance movement against the Japanese was ever found.A cemetery for the victims of the Pontianak Incident was built to serve as a reminder of the event. Sadly, not many, including Indonesians, know about this incident. Indonesian schools, too, hardly teach about or make any mention of it.Source:Southeast Asian Minorities in the Wartime Japanese EmpireGolddiggers, Farmers, and Traders in the "Chinese Districts" of West Kalimantan, Indonesia