Advice in wake of Lane Bryant deaths

Many years ago, I heard J.J. Bittenbinder, a 23-year veteran Chicago homicide detective, talk about how victims can increase their chances for survival in cases of carjacking and assaults of any kind, especially when the perpetrator is threatening victims with a gun.

I remember the most crucial advice Bittenbinder gave based on his extensive experience investigating murder cases in which many victims had been found at point B, and not where the crimes had originated, point A.

Bittenbinder's message is as follows: Never go from point A to point B no matter what the gunman threatens to do because if you do what he asks, your chances of survival are zero.

The reason the perpetrator wants the victims to go from point A to point B is tragically illustrated in the murders of five women in the Lane Bryant store in Tinley Park.

Victims more often survive when they do not allow the perpetrator to take them to a secluded area.

According to Bittenbinder, a gunman does not want to make a scene so when faced with a victim's refusal to cooperate, he will usually run from the scene, take wild shots with more than a 50-50 chance of missing his target, or will be so thrown off guard at unexpected resistance that the victims will have a chance to run, scream or to disarm the perpetrator.

There are no guarantees for survival against a person who has no conscience. However, victims' chances are diminished to zero when the perpetrator gains total control by frightening them into believing they will survive if they go from point A to point B.

Unfortunately, both the Brown's Fried Chicken massacre and the Lane Bryant massacre tell us otherwise.

Mary E. Keenan

Schaumburg