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.
According to speaker David J Akers III, a safety and
occupational health professional at Concurrent Technologies Corporation,
schools should establish codes to end lockdown following an active shooter even
so that everyone will know the alert is coming from law enforcement and not
from the attacker.
When law enforcement officers arrive, it is important to
stay calm and quiet. Do not run toward the officers, cling to them or yell to
them out of excitement. These actions can startle officers who have braced
themselves for attack from the shooter. If you are holding objects with the
intent of throwing them at an attacker, put them down when police arrive and
keep your hands visible to officers or at least show your hands briefly if you are
attending to children.
Once you have reached a safe location, conduct a head count
and tell emergency personnel about any children or staff who are unaccounted
for. Teachers and other staff should assist injured individuals until medical
help arrives, and guidance counselors should assess the psychological state of
everyone involved to determine which individuals will need immediate help.
Pre-established guidelines for communicating with parents,
families of staff and the media should be followed. Certain individuals should
be designated as being responsible for these notifications so that others can
continue to tend to children.
Watch for future blog posts with additional tips from Akers.
Previous blog posts have covered Developing a Preparedness Plan, Preparing for an Active Shooter Situation, and Responding to an Active Shooter.