Self defense expert: Guns don't necessarily make you safer

HUNTSVILLE, AL (WAFF) - Self-defense experts say arming yourself won't necessarily make you any safer, and in fact could do the opposite.

Personal protection specialist Cameron Bucy said even if you're armed, a gun should be used as a last resort. Statistically, your best bet is to run.

He says statistically shooters only hit a moving target 30 percent of the time, so you have a 70 percent chance of survival if you flee.

MORE: LA shooter bought gun legally, police say

If that's not an option, the next safest thing to do is hide. One of the Charleston shooting survivors lived because she pretended she was dead. That could work, as well as finding a place to hide.

As a last resort, you'll have to fight.

"If they decide to carry a weapon - training to carry, you're responsible for every bullet that leaves that gun," Bucy said. "It's going to do you more harm than good in a lot of cases. And we've seen that in past events where someone who draws a weapon but doesn't know how to use it properly ends up getting themselves or other people hurt as well."

You can also always think outside the box. For example, in the Lafayette case, a woman pulled the fire alarm to draw attention to the theater.

Bucy says it could be dangerous to draw attention to yourself like that, but in this case it worked.

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