On Aug. 14, 2013, ASSE presented Emergency Management: Active Shooter in Public Schools, a webinar
addressing the process of preventing, preparing for, responding to and
recovering from active shooter situations in schools.
Speaker David J Akers III, a safety and occupational health
professional at Concurrent Technologies Corporation, discussed the three
recommended response strategies in the event of an active shooter situation:
Evacuate, hide and fight.
Evacuate
If possible, the best response strategy is to evacuate via
predetermined evacuation routes. Choose either the primary or secondary
evacuation route, depending on which one leads farther away from the shooter.
When evacuating, leave all belongings behind and do not
confront the attacker. Do not attempt to move wounded individuals unless you
have been specifically trained to do so, because injuries can be aggravated
through hasty movements.
Getting yourself and any children for whom you are
responsible out of the building safely should be your main priority. Assist
others in need only once you have removed yourself from immediate danger.
Hide
If evacuation is impossible due to the location of the
shooter, hiding is the next recommended response strategy. Make sure that all
children for whom you are responsible are out of view, and encourage them to
stay quiet.
If possible, lock doors and barricade them with chairs and
desks. Get behind heavy furniture, which may protect against bullets, but do
not trap yourself or children in spaces that will be hard to escape. Make the
room look unoccupied by closing blinds, turning off lights and silencing phones
and other sources of noise.
Do not come out of hiding unless it becomes more dangerous
to stay hidden or you know safe escape is possible. If you are directed to come
out of hiding by law enforcement, make sure the officers are wearing uniforms
before following their orders.
Fight
This last strategy should be used only as a last resort. If the
attacker has discovered you, fighting may be your only option. Make noise and
throw items such as furniture and computers. Classroom objects like scissors
may be used as weapons. Once you have started fighting, do not stop until
either the attacker is no longer a threat or you are no longer able to fight.
Watch for more blog posts with additional tips from Akers.
Previous posts have covered Developing a Preparedness Plan and Preparing forActive Shooter Situations.