- For the World War Z event, please see The Great PanicAfter the initial questioning and confusion begins to wore off, the true scope of the outbreaks would be realized. Either from one reporter, the government itself, or from the internet, the way people find out wouldn't matter. People would be in panic mode as chaos erupts in major cities.
Herd Mentality[]
Herd mentality is the tendency for people’s behavior or beliefs to conform to those of the group they belong to. in this case, it means everyone and anyone would be rushing through streets and roads to get away from the hordes or to run away from anyone. In the first few hours, this means up to hundreds of people running through streets and roads, sometimes even trampling or squishing people in their way.
If there is a Zombie or someone infected in the crowd, depending on either the bite or virus acts quickly, the mass of people would turn to a frenzy as civilians are infected or bite en mass and could reanimate in the worst times. Roadways would also be crowded as cars would fill freeways to evacuate and would fill up exits. If there was any zombies in their paths, then those in cars would be the perfect buffet for any zombies if doors or windows are broken into or opened.
Rioting[]
Beginning of a Riot[]
As people learn more about the situation unfolding, they would riot and protest violently. These would be caused by either anger over government inaction or from people mistaking police killing the dead or infected for mass shootings. Starting out as people wither protesting actions by the government or from "mass-executions" could lead to large scale violence as looting (see below), arson, and attacks would occur as the confused and angered want answers or want to survive. Other times, if a riot starts unprovoked, it could mean something else is going on. Sometimes mass hysteria could be connected to these, but if there is non then that means its a cover for zombie attacks.
Police Response[]
As riots or "riots" grow more violent and out of control, police would be called in to stop the violence. They would install barricades and began spraying glasses to stop rioters, often leading to more violence from the crowd. If these "riots" are actually the case of zombies, they would rush the police and rioters and cause more chaos, as police would attempt to enclose rioters to stop them from exiting, leading to more infections.
While riot police can stop people, their efficiency on zombies can differ. Slow or "Romero" zombies can be easily pushed back if wearing enough protective gear to stop any bites, from entering the skin. Infected zombies or ones that faster and violent can pose a more serious danger as if they can spread the virus other then bites, police could get infected and pushed back. In the most dangerous scenario of unkillable or a large amount of zombies, police would be overwhelmed and would fall back to survive, leading to more casualties as they retreat to better defended area's.
Looting[]
See: Looting for more information