During the first few days of a zombie pandemic, people won’t likely know what they are facing. Interactions will likely result in infection of people who are unaware of the situation. There are a few things that would give away possible infected. This article will attempt to educate readers about encounters with zombies, and zombies in general so that others can be educated in the event of an outbreak.

A list of general infected physical characteristics:
Yellowed, red, or grayish skin
Extremley bloodshot eyes
Smell of decay
Blisters, boils, or open lesions

Mental Characteristics:
Increased ease of agitation
Inability to understand or to respond to verbal warning or threats
Increased capacity for violence

If you are armed and come in contact with a person who seems infected and will not comply with verbal commands or flee from you when warned or threatened, then you should evaluate your situation rationally and consider your options.

Here are your options:

1. Call the police while you have the suspected infected at gun point. Attempt to keep them a safe distance from you with more verbal threats while the emergency operator dispatches police to your location. Inform the operator that you are a legally armed civilian and have a violent suspect at gun point. Make sure that the operator also informs the police of this fact so that you are not disarmed when they arrive. Keep the operator on the line until police arrive. Once the police arrive, inform them of the suspected situation and withdraw so that they might deal with the possibly infected individual. Provide back up if necessary. If police insist that you drop your weapon, kindly inform them that you are the one on the phone with emergency services, you feel threatened and that you will lower and holster your weapon, but do not wish to be disarmed. Generally, police will understand this and not continue to yell at you to drop your weapon as they tend to do on television.

2. Do all of the above, but if you feel that your life is in danger before the police arrive, then you lawfully have reason to protect yourself. (A.K.A. Capping that fucking zombie.) If the allegedly infected person comes at you, a warning shot should be fired prior to a kill shot if you feel there is time.

We realize that there may not be time to phone the police, much less wait for them to arrive, if so, take what action you can to either incapacitate the indivdual or defend yourself.

IF you are unarmed:

1. Get to a safe location. If the person is truely infected, they will be hot on your heels or at least shuffling in your general direction. (Depending on the type of zombie.)
2. Find a weapon. (Baseball bat, golf club, gun, sword, ect.)
3. Call 911 and explain your situation. Although it is doubtful that police will respond to the report of a zombie beating on your door, they will respond to a report of someone attempting to break into your home. Stay on the phone with emergency services until the threat is resolved.
4. Defend yourself until police have arrived and dispatched the zombie(s).
4a. If the zombie gets inside, kill it, if it kills the police, report that the officers are down and that dispatch should send multiple units. Police will likely show up in force and shoot first and ask quetions later.

Although this article is written with current laws in mind, it shouldn not be taken as legal advice as what one should do in an encounter of this type. ZAC cannot be held liable for what you decide to do. However, self defense is legal in any state, but you should check with local law enforcement as to laws governing self defense in public, at home, and violent encounter situations.