This video takes significance in the face of the recent movie shooting and focusses on tipping the odds towards survival (there are of course no guarantees):
Of course, one decisive but often overlooked point is that such terrorism or lone madman actions usually end quickly once someone is able to shoot back. If my recall serves, that is why terrorist school shootings stopped in Israel after a critical mass of teachers were armed.
So, it raises the question whether we need to in effect create a civilian marshal corps in sufficient numbers to be a deterrent. Similarly, the Israelis have developed techniques for security to detect suspicious persons before they act. (It seems that most people about to do something extreme will give off subtle cues detectable by a trained and prepared person.)
