Infantry are trained in immediate response to orders. For example, “AMBUSH RIGHT!” everybody immediately flanks right and charges firing with whatever you have.
You know you will suffer tremendous casualties, but if you do not prevail, you are in a kill zone and will be killed.
The WWII and Korean War generation had grown up playing in the outside and had a greater instinct to mix it up in a fist’ocuffs and prevailing.
This generation at best might be tooled up to more quickly play computer games, but hesitates at real world fist o cuffs.
Even with this perspective, some reports indicated he was armed with upwards of 2-9mm/40cal pistols, a shotgun and an AR-15. Smaller caliber pistols and possibly the AR-15 in single shot mode might be rushed before collapsing, but the shotgun is a formidable equalizer.
It would probably take 3-5 men rushing him concurrently and 4 being killed before one could engage him physically, then others could join in. He might have been able to also defend off 20-40 consecutively in that situation.
I haven’t heard if he deployed smoke or teargas. If teargas, such as CS, then it incapacitates and the rush would only last as long as you could hold your breath in those tight quarters.
On the other hand, with the gas mask, his visibility is greatly confined so it would be much easier to catch him from a blind spot.
For those under attack, you wouldn’t know how many attackers there were,..necessarily, adding to the uncertainty.
Most hand-to-hand combat situations are over within 2 seconds. A knife in a hand fight prevails and a gun is a great equalizer in a knife fight. Automatic weapon fire gains fire superiority and it takes equal to 3x as much firepower to gain superiority depending upon the endurance, motivation, and willpower of those engaged.
EXCELLANT analysis and comprehensive points. thanks.