Knives can be deadlier at close range than guns

If you’re confronted, forget Hollywood-style defences, experts advise. Run

First, a suburban Pittsburgh high school, then a Toronto office building and on Tuesday a Calgary house party and a Brampton school.

In Pittsburgh, 19 students and a police officer were wounded, in Toronto four employees; in Brampton a 17-year-old boy was injured; and in Calgary five young people are dead. All were stabbed. “It’s probably one of the highest levels of threats we can face,” said Steve Summerville, president of Stay Safe Instructional Programs and a retired staff sergeant with Toronto Police, speaking about knives and other sharp-edged weapons.

“They are silent, they require no skill, no training, they’re easily concealed,” he said.

“If you have the ability to move your hand you can cause life-threatening, if not fatal, injuries.”

Although mass shootings have dominated headlines, it’s knives, more than guns, that concern Chris Roberts, managing director of Safe International.

“Both are very frightening,” Roberts said, “but in my opinion, if both are in close range, a knife is more dangerous . . . it can come at you from so many different angles.”

Even the idea of preparing for a knife fight seems like “an oxymoron,” Summerville said, since there is no way to guarantee a high level of safety.

A recently finished three-month inquest looked into the dangers of sharp-edged weapons after three people with mental health disorders were shot by police while holding knives or scissors.

The inquest recommended changes to police training that would emphasize verbal de-escalation, in lieu of current training, in which officers are taught to react when facing an “imminent threat,” even if a person is in crisis.

While that is an ongoing debate in law enforcement, Summerville said, for the average person, running away is the best defence.

Many people don’t even register that they’ve been attacked with a blade until after it’s happened.

“Long after the situation is over, they suddenly realize,” Summerville said. Often, Roberts said, victims at first think they’ve been punched.

If the intended victim does recognize the danger in time, and leaving isn’t an option, gaining some distance is key to self-defence.

“If they can’t touch you, they can’t hurt you,” Summerville said. “If that’s not possible, you need something to be able to prevent movement of the person’s hand,” such as blankets, sheets or a garbage pail lid.

If attempts to talk down an attacker or create space are unsuccessful, said Roberts, people should be strategic about exposure.

“Keep chin tucked in . . . and make yourself small,” he said.

Wrestling a knife out of someone’s hands is “Hollywood,” Summerville said. “It’s TV, not something that’s real or realistic.”