After the non-stop coverage of the active shooter situation in Florida, civilians are no doubt hungry for advice on how best to keep from being one of the victims, should they ever be in such a situation.
There's a course being taught called Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events (CRASE). Police departments across the nation are putting them on for citizens in their jurisdictions. And there are a few videos online where computer uses can watch a class. Here are two, one from Arundel, Maine and one from Fort Worth, Texas. They are both about an hour long and similar but for the local cop stories told by the instructors.
A PDF of the video aids can be found here. Here's an outline of the salient points:
Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events
The background science of how people behave in high stress events
Denial
Deliberation
Decisive Moment
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Stage one, Denial --
•Don’t Deny
•Hear Gunshots
•Go straight to deliberation
Stage two, Deliberation --
•Calm yourself
•Combat breathing
•Shift your emotion
•Mental Scripting
Stage three, Decisive Moment --
Avoid
• maintain Situational Awareness
•Leave ASAP
•Know your exits including Secondary Exits
•Call 911
Deny the shooter access
•Lock the door
•Lights out
•Out of sight
•Barricade
–Heavier = Better
–More = Better
–Doorstops = Better
•Outward opening
–Ropes
–Tactical Cinch
Defend
•Positioning
•Grab the gun
•Fight
Priority of Work
•Stop the Killing
•Stop the Dying
•Evacuate the Area
When the Police Arrive
•Follow commands
•Show your palms
•Do not move
Medical
•EMS Delay
•People Need Help
•Seek training
Plan ahead
•Risk Assessment
•Work with local police
Personnel Issues
•Expect mental trauma
•Develop a critical incident stress management plan
Schools
•No curriculum/one answer fits all!
–“It depends”
•Accountability
–Next to impossible
–Kids are smart
•Practice!
–Regular and at odd times
•Situational awareness
–Strategize
One important point the officer who conducted the class I attended said was that when police arrive at an active shooter situation -- I'm paraphrasing here -- it's not like in the TV shows where the cops have a standoff with shooter demanding that he drop the gun. They will shoot anyone holding a gun. Citizens who are armed and innocent should keep that in mind when deliberating about whether to try to be a hero.
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1:31 PM 2/16/2018
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