A.D.D. Avoid, deny & defend Active shooter preparation and response

Why Prepare? Reaching epidemic proportions and increasing Only the high-casualty producing events make the news Most incidents occur where shooter has been undeterred and unobstructed Soft Targets: Limited active security measures or armed personnel

Why Prepare? Numbers continue to increase, including 2011 and 20121 1ALERRT / TX State ASE Study

Why Prepare? Imagine… one armed man walks into your building, walks from area to area with a handgun or shotgun, shooting everyone he sees. Was it easy to get in? A lot of potential victims? Do we all know what to do? Where to go? How to react? The time to prepare is now.

Definition Active shooter is defined by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined or populated area; in most cases, active shooters use firearms and there is no pattern or method to their selection of victims.

Definition Active shooter is a general term for a homicide in progress and may or may not involve guns. Can also be a person with a knife stabbing people Simple terms: One or more persons engaged in killing or attempting to kill multiple people in an area occupied by multiple unrelated individuals.

Characteristics of AS Situations Happens quickly Gun shots, bodies and bloody victims, yelling/screaming, people running and hiding Happens everywhere Post offices Businesses Schools Military bases Churches Hospitals By Location1 37% - Business 34% - Schools 17% - Outdoor/public venues 12% - Other – churches, bases etc 20% - Mobile to another location 40% - No relationship to location 1ALERRT / TX State ASE Study

The Suspect Mindset Deliberate Focused Coward - Bully Uncaring - Detached Coward - Bully Many kill themselves when confronted by the police Do not care who you are, they just want to kill as many people as they can Will not listen to reason or pleading. They have nothing to lose

The Suspect1 92% male Most often between 21 and 50 As young as 13 and as old as 88 All shooters studied had some amount of planning 35% performed extensive planning Floor plans/diagrams Hit list Equipment/supplies Body armor Manifesto

Planning and Preparation The time to win is BEFORE the attack Vigilance Pay attention to strange people and events Effective process for reporting same Limit access to the facility as much as practical Develop a unified emergency response plan Conduct training Mental preparation– think through likely events Periodic training of the response system Develop policies, procedures and medical plans Including your own people – work place violence

Sound the Alarm Every business, school, church and hospital should have some form of emergency notification system Capable of reaching all occupants immediately Capable of initiation from anywhere Unique to active shooter / armed intruder Should be drilled periodically Train personnel what to do when the alert is activated Recognition of event Decision making Echo the alert Shelter in place or evacuate

Response to the Event Three stages in crisis event Denial Deliberation Decisive Moment

Denial Common for people to not admit that they are in a disaster or underestimate the severity costing time and lives Normalcy Bias – Expecting things to be like they always are, the brain will first try to describe the new situation as normal, delaying action Social Proof - In novel or ambiguous situations we look to others for information on how to act. If others are doing nothing, you will tend to do nothing and if others are acting, you will tend to act

Denial Need to get past denial phase as quickly as possible Be vigilant – be aware of strange people or events If you hear gunshots of something that could be gunshots, act as if it is an active shooter Get to deliberation phase as quickly as possible Training is the key Identify the characteristics of an active shooter event Stress inoculation helps get through the denial phase Unified and standard response helps reduce delay Action plan helps manage fear

Deliberation A decision must be made about what to do This can be a problem… Your brain probably won’t be functioning as well because of the stress When the reflective (thinking) brain is impaired, we are left with the reflexive (reactive) brain Flight Fight Freeze – Always the wrong choice You will not have time to develop new plans Taking time to decide may cost you / others their lives

Decisive Moment / Action Once a decision is made to enact the plan, be aggressive and move with a purpose Having a plan of action is the first step to survival Think through possible events and responses Practice the response Shift your emotion Statistically, after the police are notified of an active shooter incident, they will have around a 3 - 5 min ETA. Active shooters don’t have much time They will make the most of the time they have, killing as many people as possible

Decisive Action Avoid the confrontation Deny access to your location The basic response plan – A.D.D. Avoid the confrontation Deny access to your location Defend yourself

Avoid Be vigilant – be aware of strange people or events Sound the alarm (if feasible) Get away from the danger Exit the area by any means possible Take whomever you can with you Call for help – give descriptions Know escape routes for your location Exits, windows, stairwells Decide to leave or shelter in place Often depends on suspect’s location

Deny If unable to get out of the building, deny access to where you are Know your work areas and be familiar with rooms that lend themselves as good barricades Badge access doors Solid doors No windows Possible escape route Communications

Deny Make it very difficult to reach you Barricade the doors with ties, belts, bars, chairs Barricade and/or darken windows Put as many locked doors and objects in the way Stay out of sight Call for help – give descriptions Go back into avoid mode Median time for a police response from first call is 3 min1 Median time from first report to event ending is also 3 min1 Shooting had stopped before LE arrival in 49%1 By 9 min, 73% of assailants had stopped shooting1

Shot and Killed at Virginia Tech Room 206 – The shooting started here. Shooter walked in and started killing people. He left and returned later to shoot more people. Room 211 – Teacher heard shots told student to call 911. Students attempted to block door with desk. The shooter pushed his way in, shot the professor and walked down the aisle killing students. The shooter returned later and shot more students. Room 207 – Second room attacked. Shooter walked in and shot several students and the teacher. He then walked down the aisles shooting students. The shooter left. Shooter attempted to return. Students used their bodies to barricade the door. Shooter got door 1 inch open. Also fired several shots into the door knob area. No one was hit by these shots. Room 204 – Professor Liviu Librescu (a holocaust survivor), held the door shut when the shooter tried to enter. Librescu yelled at his students to jump out of the windows. Shooter shot Librescu through the door, killing him. 10 students made it out of the windows before shooter got in. Two more were shot trying to get out (both survived). Of the 6 who did not get out, 4 were shot and one of those shot died. Room 205. Students heard the shots and used their their feet to keep the door closed. The shooter pushed on and fired through the door, but never gained entry.

Deny The number of deaths is affected by two factors How quickly the police respond How quickly the shooter can find victims Its up to you to slow the rate at which the shooter can find victims…

Defend If you cannot leave, or the suspect is already in your area, defend yourself in any way possible Find improvised weapons Chairs, pipes, fire extinguisher, pencils, pens, bag of rocks, feet and fists Get as close as you can to the access point before the shooter enters Try to get a hold of the gun and get it pointed away Use a “pack” mentality and swarm the shooter Do not stop 19% of incidents, would-be victims subdued the attacker1

The suspect is trying to kill you! Defend Hiding only works for so long There are very few things that will stop a bullet in most locations Have a survivor’s (not a victim’s) mindset Decide right now that your are going to do whatever it takes to survive Getting shot does not mean that you are dead You can and must keep going! Remember… The suspect is trying to kill you!

When Police Arrive Report to 911 and Officers Location and number of attacker(s) Physical descriptions and weapons Location of victims / potential victims What to expect Uniformed and plain clothes – multiple agencies Primary goal – Stop the killing Priority of work Find and confront the shooter Will NOT stop to help the wounded Will NOT escort people out Help the wounded Clear people from the building

When Police Arrive Understanding the POLICE point of view The situation will be chaotic They do not know who is a victim or suspect They will treat everyone as a suspect until proven otherwise Officers will be experiencing high stress, just like you

When Police Arrive Respond Appropriately Follow commands (you might be handcuffed) Keep your hands visible at all times Do not move or move slowly if you must

Aftermath This will be an extremely traumatic event The buildings and grounds will be considered a crime scene and will be closed for some time All rescued persons will be held for statements, identification and treatment Expect mental trauma Shock Nightmares PTSD Survivor’s guilt Critical incident stress management plan

Planning and Training Policies, procedures and medical equipment Periodic training is a must Test the alert / notification system Begin with table top exercises with managers Move to walk-through training Graduate to full scenario training Most people will revert to even the most basic training and rehearsals during stressful events Without a plan, panic, fear and indecision usually take over

Sample AS Policy Our organization places the highest priority on the preservation of the lives of our employees and customers. If an active shooter event should occur, our employees shall use the Avoid, Deny, Defend model. If it is safe for them to do so, employees should exit the facility immediately to AVOID the shooter(s). If employees are unable to safely exit the facility, they should lock themselves in their current location and barricade the door to DENY the shooter(s) access. In the event that employees are unable to utilize the AVOID and DENY strategies successfully, they should DEFEND themselves using whatever means are available. Regardless of the option(s) utilized, employees shall call emergency services (911) as soon as it is safe to do so. In the event of an active shooter incident, all employees will be required to undergo mandatory mental health counseling.

Resources I Love You Guys Foundation – Standard Response Protocol iloveyouguys.org Force Science Institute – The Lethal Employee forcescience.org FEMA – IS 907 – Active Shooter – What You Can Do training.fema.gov ALERRT – U.S. Active Shooter Events 2000-20101 alerrt.org YouTube – Run, Hide and Fight I love you guys foundation – Father of Emily Keyes killed in 2006 in Platte Canyon Colorado active shooter/hostage situation. Developed very good and simple visual emergency standard response protocol for schools. Offers free sample materials etc. Their presentation was given to the Texas School Board (TSB) and will likely be adopted statewide.