Active Shooter Attacks - Part 2

Active shooter attacks are happening more and more and, tragically, more and more are happening in schools and houses of worship. As with all natural or man-made disasters and emergency situations, the more we are prepared, the better we will fare. Family preparation for the active shooter situation must begin early as these events are happening to younger and younger victims and it is imperative that parents put away any feelings of unease in teaching children what to do. Preparing family members, including young children, can be accomplished without scaring the hell out of them and we will discuss below. This series of three articles will cover:

• Recognizing an active shooter situation?
• Preparing yourself and your family for the possibility and what to do if it you're caught in one.
• The aftermath.

How To Prepare

In the Standing Tall article Gunfighting Part 1-Situational Awareness for Armed Individuals, we discussed how important it is to be aware of your surroundings and how this can help avoid a bad situation becoming worse. All the topics, recommendations and, especially, the three steps to help you survive violent confrontations apply to the active shooter and reviewing them along with Active Shooter Attacks-Part 1 should be the first stage of preparation. The second stage of preparation is to think about it happening in your child's school, your business or your church and have a plan to react. Many schools today have plans for active shooter, find out what the plan entails, right down to the basic details and ensure your children know and understand the plan. Then use this article to have the discussion with family members or work colleagues. Suggest an individual be appointed to oversee preparation and or drills for active shooter situations, very much the same as the school fire marshals or work block safety officer. Formalize the active shooter response in a written document specific to the location and make sure all individuals are familiar with the document.

Some basic considerations when preparing for this, or any violent confrontation, are:

• Inform everyone of what to do in case of an active shooter on the premises. These actions will need to be based on an easy to remember plan such as ESCAPE-BARRICADE-FIGHT. Include instruction on actions not to be taken or avoided. Conduct training classes and drills including self-help first aid for all concerned. Specifics will be identified below.
• Review the tenets of threat recognition, ASSESS-DECIDE-ACT. Assess what is going on and identify an active shooter attack is in progress. Decide what to do, escape quickly or barricade inside the structure and, if needed, be ready to fight for your life. Act decisively carrying out the plan.
• Identify and clearly mark building exits, not just the emergency exits, to include windows. Ensure these exits are free from obstruction and are not locked, at least from the inside.
• Have an accountability plan for all involved. This can be as simple as a cell phone tree to call or text or a requirement for individuals to 'text in' verifying their safe status. All should know necessary emergency phone numbers.
• Access control should be assessed and upgraded where necessary. Many schools now keep external doors locked and control entry.

• Individuals will need to move quickly or run and so the importance of simple things like wearing 'sensible' shoes, not bringing backpacks or briefcases should be stressed.

What To Do When It Happens

Having assessed an active shooter situation is taking place, the next step is to decide what to do. All of this must happen quickly but with organized thought. The information used to make an assessment will also guide in the decision of what to do. Where the shots are coming from, how many shots are being heard, information on the location of the shooter, knowledge of the premises will all help on how to decide on the execution of the plan. Remember, no one on the other end of a cell phone can help you right now. Let someone else call 911, this is no time to be on your cell phone. The time to use a cell phone is when you are safely out of danger and secure.

If the decision is made to ESCAPE, consider the following:

• Choose an exit and move to it quickly. The best exit may be a window.
• Do not run blindly especially around corners, you might run right into the shooter. Look before you leap! Run only as fast as you can safely, do not outrun your headlights.
• Do not run in a large group, this is a big target and makes you vulnerable. Beware the group dynamic and group think.
• If you have an idea where the shooter is, try to keep something solid between you as you make an escape.

If at any time the decision is made to BARRICADE and wait for law enforcement, consider the following:

• Use a windowless room with a solid door which can be locked if possible.
• Pile as much heavy furniture, filing cabinets etc. against the door as possible.
• Gather improvised weapons to fight with if necessary, such as fire extinguishers, sports or kitchen equipment, any heavy objects and liquids to throw in the shooters' eyes.
• If it is advantageous, turn out the lights. Make a 'fort' of any remaining furniture as far from the door as possible and get down behind it. If there are hallways around the room, make the fort in the center of the room.
• Be silent. Turn off cell phones, turning them to silent or vibrate mode is not good enough. Remember the walls are not bullet proof.
• Identify an escape route other than the barricaded entrance. It may be a window or even through a section of dry-wall. If the building is set on fire, stay low, crawl on the floor to avoid smoke inhalation (the major cause of fatalities in building fires), follow the walls to escape.
• When law enforcement arrives, obtain positive identification before opening up the room. Ask for a badge or other identification to be shown under the door. When positive identification is obtained, obey all instructions immediately. Keep hands up with palms facing out.

The last part of the plan is FIGHT. This may happen at any time during the entire period of danger, while trying to escape, while defending the barricaded room or even right at the beginning if the shooter is encountered face to face. The following considerations are the simplest but also the hardest to see through:

• Fight like your life depends upon it…it does! You can and must fight even if shot or otherwise injured. Use any improvised weapon you can to fight back, any heavy or sharp object will do. Hit and/or stab again and again.
• Go for the gun, that's what is doing the damage. Expect the barrel to be hot. If the shooter is using a long-barreled rifle or shotgun, grab the barrel and keep it from pointing at anyone while someone else hits and hits and hits!
• There are no rules but one…win and live. Get violent, fast.

A few general points on active shooter situations. Although there have been successful examples, playing dead is the same as hiding and hoping which is not an effective strategy for survival. At Columbine, the killers came back around to shoot victims again after the first round of killing. The priority of responding law enforcement is to find the shooter and stop the killing. Their priority is not the victims so they will not render aid or stay with you to protect you. They will give you instructions and then move on, even if you are wounded, a good reason why a basic self-help first aid class should be included in the preparation. Armed citizens must remember law enforcement is hunting down an unidentified armed killer and any armed individual not law enforcement stands a real chance of being shot. Do not draw your weapon unless you absolutely must to immediately defend yourself or others and then be mindful the responding cops may mistake you for the shooter.