Steps to Surviving an Active Shooter

After every shooting incident, administrators across the country pledge to review their lock-down plans and many cry out for new, additional gun-control measures. However, most people never learn the recommended response to active shooter incidents. Rather than sensationalize the shooter and the tragedy, we should be teaching people how to react when the unthinkable happens.

Survive an Active Shooter

In October 2008, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security developed training for the general public regarding how to respond to active shooter incidents. The training was developed following the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007. The concepts behind the recommended active shooter responses are easy yet they all but unknown to most of the public.are

If you hear shots fired, you have an immediate decision to make to save your life and maybe even the lives of those nearby. You must decide between one of three options. You can evacuate, hide or take decisive action and fight back. You will want to be prepared in advance to take any of these actions.

If you can safely leave the area, you should evacuate. There is no need to hide or stay around an area where there is a shooter if you can immediately and safely evacuate the area. It is OK to run! Unless you are a trained law enforcement officer you don’t necessarily need to stay in harm’s way. It is a good idea to take note of any exits or stairwells and have a plan of escape in mind. If you hear shots fired down the hall or in another area of the building, you may be able to immediately escape and cal 911. Time is of the essence and you must make the decision to evacuate after listening to determine where the shots are coming from. As you leave the building, if you see law enforcement, make sure to show your hands and follow instructions if any are given.

Be Ready for Anything

If evacuation is not possible, hide. Get out of the hallways. You should barricade yourself in a room, if possible. Close and lock all doors and windows. It may also be wise to place obstacles near the door which slow the shooter down and give even a second or two of distraction to the shooter. Close any blinds or curtains and turn off the lights. Find a hiding spot where you will be concealed. If possible, take cover behind items that may stop a bullet and get as low to the ground as you can with your arms and legs pulled in tight to your body. In the military and law enforcement, anything that can stop a bullet is called “cover.”

While hiding, silence your cell phone or pager. You do not want to draw attention to yourself. If possible, do not choose a hiding place that traps or restricts your options for movement. If police officers bang on the door and tell you to come out, you have some decisions to make. How do you know whether or not they are law enforcement or the shooter? Some officers are trained to put their badge under the door so occupants know it is actually the police at the door. You may not want to yell back at law enforcement because that could give your position away to an impostor. It will be your decision to make whether you remain hiding when you observe enough signs and you have reached the conclusion that it is now safe to come out.

Finally, as a last resort and only when you feel your life is in imminent danger, fight back, take action against the shooter. Use whatever you can, such as a fire extinguisher, chairs, vases, or anything else to try to incapacitate the shooter. If possible, work as a team with others to stop the shooter. Act with physical aggression and do not stop until the shooter is unable to continue firing.

 Surviving an Active Shooter

The City of Houston, Texas recently made an educational training video called “Run, Hide, Fight” to demonstrate these survival techniques. Although it is recommend that adults watch this video, potential viewers should be aware that the video could be considered graphic in nature. The video shows an actor shooting several people at close range with a shotgun. Parental discretion might be recommended for children with regards to this video.

What Should You Do When You Hear Gunshots

When you make contact with law enforcement during an active shooter incident (either because you run towards them while you are trying to evacuate or they enter the room in which you are hiding), always show your hands. Police officers and sheriff deputies do not know that you are not the shooter. They do not know if there are multiple shooters. Do not be surprised if you are searched or questioned. It is possible that shooters can hide among innocent victims trying to escape capture. Law enforcement may run right past you without stopping. They are trained to respond to the sound of the shots being fired so that they can engage the shooter. Don’t stop evacuating just because you see police or swat team members. Always follow any instructions given to you by law enforcement officials.

Notice how there is no lock-down option given? Lock-down is a procedure that originated with prison riots. If there was a disturbance in the prison like a fight or riot, the guards would lock-down the prison, withdraw the remaining guards, and wait for reinforcements to arrive to break up the riot. These lock-down procedures were not intended to protect inmates but merely to safely remove the guards and wait for reinforcements. It is common during prison riots for the guards to set up a perimeter and wait for back-up.

Armed Police Guard School

Following the Columbine High School massacre in 1999, law enforcement across the country changed their tactics for responding to active shooter incidents. In 1999, the best practice for any type of hostage situation was to form a perimeter and wait for a Special Weapons and Tactics or SWAT team to arrive. Columbine changed everything, though. As patrol officers formed a perimeter, the two active shooters in Columbine never stopped firing. Rather than a hostage situation, where time is on the side of law enforcement and there is a standard operating procedure involving trained negotiators, active shooter incidents are rapidly evolving situations with an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a public, well populated area. There will often be no pattern or method to their selection of victims. The active shooter just wants to kill and kill publicly and never intends to survive the incident.

Law enforcement officers are trained to immediately enter wherever the active shooter is and move to the sound of gunfire. They no longer set up a perimeter and wait for back-up. We should all re-evaluate whether or not lock-down tactics are best for our schools, businesses, etc. Please understand that in some circumstances, lock-down procedures may be appropriate. For elementary schools, it is unlikely that unarmed teachers may be able to safely lead young children out of the school if they hear shots fired, however, teachers should be trained that evacuation is an option. In hospitals, it may be impossible to move many patients quickly away from a shooter and the best solution for hospitals is often lock-down. It has been suggested that armed guards be stationed in some of these more public locations or that citizens who are of a mind to should legally arm themselves.

Prepare Yourself Today

Everyone should think about what they will do during an active shooter incident and talk to your friends and family about it as well. Don’t allow yourself, your family or your friends to become a victim. Ask if they know about “run, hide, fight” and if they know what to do when they hear shots fired. This type of preparedness just might save lives and even turn the tide against this sort of violence in the future.