Safety Corner
Active Shooter Safety
Resource: The Survival Mom
Run, Hide, and Fight
If you find yourself in the middle of an active shooter event, you should remember these three words: Run, Hide, Fight. Just as “Stop, Drop, and Roll” can save the life of someone on fire, “Run, Hide, Fight” might save the life of someone under fire. This is the order of the actions that you should be taking in an active shooter scenario.
Run / Escape
Most people will hide as their first course of action. You, however, should run away from the direction of gunfire as soon as you hear it, leaving through those exits you’ve been mentally marking. This will make it less likely you and the shooter will cross paths. Forget about collecting your stuff, it will only slow you down and, face it, it’s just stuff.
(One very important note: If you see law enforcement, don’t run up and hug them. Get your hands in the air, fingers spread, where officers can see them. They need to know you’re not the threat. Follow any instructions given.)
Hide
If there’s only one exit and the shooter is standing in front of it, running might not be an option. Your next choice is hiding.
You first want to get out of the shooter’s line of sight. We call this “concealment”, but it isn’t necessarily “cover”. If you’re concealed, you can’t be seen but a bullet might penetrate to hit you. If you have found cover, it means that you are both hidden and protected from projectiles hurled your way. Foliage is good concealment, but a thick tree trunk might be better cover.
In a building, get into another room, without windows, preferably one with a door you can lock. If there is no lock, put together a barrier with desks and chairs. Turn off the lights, silence your cell phone, and stay quiet behind an additional barrier like a table or in a closet. If you can quietly alert authorities, do so. Don’t respond to voice commands unless you’re sure the danger is over; sometimes the gunman will try to lure you out of a safe place.
By accomplishing the above, you’ve just made yourself a harder target to acquire for the shooter, and he wants to do his damage as fast as possible. He’ll likely pass you by to find easier targets.
Fight
What if you can’t run, and there is no reasonable hiding place? You just might have to fight yourself out of there.