Which of the following is a listed action after combat shooting?

• A. Plan your approach to your assailant
• B. Assess, breathe, cover, scan, and reload
• C. Plan and write your report
• D. Approach the subject and begin follow-through

Answer: (B)

After combat shooting, the priority is safety and control of the situation. The listed action—assess, breathe, cover, scan, and reload—captures the immediate checklist you run through. Assess means quickly evaluating your own condition, your weapon status, and the environment for any continuing danger. Breathe helps you stay calm, steady your decision-making under stress, and avoid tunnel vision. Cover refers to adopting a protective stance or using barriers to reduce exposure while you determine next steps. Scan means actively looking for additional threats, bystanders, or hazards in the area. Reload means ensuring you have ammunition ready if you need to respond further, in line with training and department protocol. Other options would shift focus to approaching the assailant, pursuing them, or handling administrative tasks like writing a report, which aren’t the immediate post-incident steps in the field.