In lieu of today’s active shooter event at the Navy Yard in Washington D.C. where a shooter, armed with an AR-15 opened fire injuring, and possibly killing dozens (notice the possible as there is usually a conflict in numbers during the initial reporting process). This is a great reminder that these types of events can, and have, occurred in variety of places to includes, military installations, churches, schools and shopping malls. While there is no need to panic and lock yourself inside your house out of fear, it is a good time to be reminded that you should always have a plan everywhere you go. A good model to follow is the Department of Homeland Security’s “Run, Hide, Fight” model. Each situation is different and extremely fluid but know ahead of time if you are ever (and we hope never) caught in an active shooter event the police are on their way…and in a hurry. Run- If you can safely evacuate the area do so. Make sure before you run to look for “cover” or something you can hide behind in case the bullets start heading your way. If you can assist others in safe manner do so, if not continue to run. If you can’t safely evacuate the area: Hide- The key to hiding is trying to find a spot that you can lock yourself into. Use large objects to block the door and DO NOT ANSWER the door!! Stay away from windows and silence your cell phones. Statics show that active shooters want high body counts so the hard you make it for them to get it, the more likely of a chance you will have for them to move on. If you can’t run, or hide: Fight- When I say fight you have one chance to live so make it worth it. Use anything and everything around you and don’t give up. You have one thing on your side that he doesn’t have; Sheer Will and Indignation (the justified reason to be pissed off). Remember, he has a gun and you don’t so you so get on it. Quick statics on active shooter events: - The shooters are often pre-occupied by a high body count rising to kill or injure as many as possible before the police arrive. - Post Columbine High School shooting the average time of an active shooter event is 8 minutes. - Shooters seldom take hostages and very rarely negotiate. With that being said there is no need to live in paranoia but with awareness. Awareness of your surroundings and if something doesn’t seem right, LEAVE. It is better to listen to your instincts and leave then it is to ignore them and something happen so you can tell yourself “yep should have listen to my self”.
Posted on: Mon, 16 Sep 2013 21:06:09 +0000