A few years ago I went and got my mass shooter certification. Although I rarely do work in crisis situations anymore, I thought the skill set would be beneficial if only on a personal level. But as the number of these shootings continues to rise, I have found myself taking more and more workouts. I’m not sure how or why it has gotten so bad, but it is an issue that we can no longer afford to turn a blind eye to.
The sad reality is that we experience a mass shooting every day or two here in the states. A mass shooting is defined as 4 or more people shot or killed in one incident. And without turning this into the great debate on gun control laws, I want to focus on what you need to know to have the best chance of survival, should you find yourself in one. After completing various trainings and speaking with numerous law enforcement agencies, here are some things to keep in mind.
Long before a mass shooting happens, you need to be proactive and have a plan. Not just personally, but suggest it to your office manager, principal, or whoever is in charge of the building. Having these systems in place increases your chances of survival exponentially. And take another step. If you have children, teach them too.
When it comes to creating a plan, the first thing you can and should do is have a mental health counselor, coach, or provider on site. Just as schools and universities have counselors, companies must have EAPs. If you choose to forego a traditional EAP, do your best to have some resource available for your staff to avoid everyday stressors. The next thing to do is adopt a “see something, say something” policy without fear of retaliation. Almost 60% of mass shooters have a connection to the location of the shooting. With that in mind, “see something, say something” and the availability of EAP can have a huge impact on a potential incident.
When there is a mass shooting, by the sound of the first shot, chaos ensues. The average time a mass shooting lasts is 5 to 15 minutes. Every second counts. So let me break down your options if you hear that first shot. The model that seems to be the most effective is Run, Hide, or Fight.
The first thing to do is take a deep breath to compose yourself and quickly do a threat assessment. If you can escape, do it. That is why it is important to control your breathing. Making deliberate movements could mean the difference between life and death. But know that you must act quickly. Inaction or delayed movement kills people. If running is not an option, hide. Knowing that these events generally end in minutes, take the following steps immediately.
1. If you are in a room, close the door. If the door doesn’t have a lock, put as much as you can in front of the door.
2. Turn off the light. After looking at data from approved mass shooter events, rooms with lights out are often overlooked.
3. If the door has a window, cover it. If you can’t cover it for some reason, move everyone in the room out of line of sight from the window. {This is an action item to take the next time you walk into your office or classroom.} Just stand outside and look out the window. Make a note of where the line of sight stops. Better yet, put a few pieces of masking tape on the floor to indicate where it is safe to stand.
4. Turn off the phones. As soon as a mass shooting starts, silence your phone. You don’t want a call or text message to come from an interested party to reveal your position. If you can call the police, do so quickly. Again, you don’t want to reveal your position. If talking is going to put you in danger, don’t do it. Another action item is knowing if you can text 911. 911 text is available in many areas, but you need to know it well in advance of a crisis situation. Get that information today.
5. If the door won’t close, don’t all stay together. This will only make it easier for the person with the gun. It’s called target availability. Most assault rifles will have a 30-40 round magazine. It would take special forces technical skill to hit most of the people if they are all spread out in different places within the room.
The last resort option is fighting. If you have nowhere to go, you must prepare to fight. Take advantage of everything you can. Remember this is not a fair fight. So don’t fight fair. Take advantage of the angles and doors. If you can get two people to stand on either side of a door, position yourself that way. The gun is the biggest threat, so grab the gun. Someone hits high and someone hits low. If you have a pen, use it. Any weapon that may be should be used.
Don’t stand across the room and throw something. Once again, you have given up your position and there is a direct line of sight that allows you to dispose of your target. The more people rush to open the door, the better. Yes, some will get shot. But this tactic outperforms the alternative.
Consider your options to run, hide, or fight. Review your action items and know your plan. Ask your boss or supervisor to practice a drill once a month in an active shooter scenario. Note “see something say something”. It is far better to be proactive than reactive. Know your environment. Whether you are in a building that you have passed every week for the last decade or it is your first time visiting. Ask yourself the following questions.
Where are the exits?
Are there any barriers or obstructions preventing you from exiting?
Where are you if you are separated from a loved one?
Get in the habit of doing this. Have a plan.
There are other things you need to know. When putting together your mass shooting plan, you need to prepare for the worst case scenario. I asked one of the local sheriffs the other night what is something the public would be surprised to know about a mass shooting incident. He said it could literally take hours to clean the building or surroundings, which would mean that many victims en masse could bleed out and die. So, as you come up with your mass shooters plan, be sure to include a few people who go through the trauma-related first aid course. The bailiff spoke extensively about knowing how to use a tourniquet. He said put them on high or you will die. He encouraged me to encourage my clients to prepare a trauma first aid kit and have one available on each floor.
We must remember that the police are not there to help us. They are not going to classify the wounded. Its sole purpose is to end the threat of violence. For this reason, we must be able to help ourselves until the environment is deemed safe and EMS can begin treating the victims. Be vigilant when the police enter a room. You must have your hands in the air or visible {like at a traffic stop} and not have the phone in your hand. They’re making split-second decisions while full of adrenaline. You don’t want to get shot because a cell phone is mistaken for a gun.
* Average police response time to an active shooter is 3 to 4 minutes. There is a new directive that many law enforcement agencies state that they enter as soon as they arrive on the scene. Some departments wait to gain a tactical advantage. This seems to change. I can also speak to some agencies that are training medical personnel to enter the scene of the active shooter with the police to treat the critical wounded on the spot and in real time. “The most important thing that I am learning from my conversations and trainings is the need to update and modify how to deal with an active shooter.
Depending on the budget of your company or school, you can buy bulletproof doors. Starting with just a couple of greats each, this is maybe another option to build on your massive shot plan. There are also very affordable door locking, locking and wedging mechanisms {100.00-200.00 per device} that every business and school should have.
The last thing I want to mention is knowing how many people are supposed to be in your building on any given day. Whether it’s staff or students, you must have an accountability system. You should be able to quickly find out who is posted and who is not. This will be helpful to the police and other stakeholders such as family members etc.
There are many threat assessment programs available. Find one and take a training. This article is a start. Develop a plan. Nobody wants to believe that they will ever be in an active shooter scenario. But, with the number of shootings increasing in volume, and as the causality count worsens with each event, information is unfortunately necessary for everyone. Please don’t delay.