A.D.D.AVOID, DENY & DEFEND

ACTIVE SHOOTER PREPARATION AND RESPONSE

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?

Why Prepare?

Numbers continue to increase, including 2011 and 20121

1ALERRT / TX State ASE Study

Imagine… one armed man walks into your building, walks from area to area with a handgun or shotgun, shooting everyone he sees.

Why Prepare?

• 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.

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

Definition

Simple terms:

One or more persons

engaged in killing or

attempting to kill multiple

people in an area occupied

by multiple unrelated

individuals.

Happens quickly • Gun shots, bodies and bloody victims,

yelling/screaming, people running and hiding

Happens everywhere• Post offices• Businesses• Schools• Military bases• Churches• Hospitals

Characteristics of AS Situations

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

• Mindset• Deliberate • Focused• Uncaring - Detached

The Suspect

• 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

• Coward - Bully• Many kill themselves when

confronted by the police

• 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

The Suspect1

Planning and PreparationThe 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

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

Sound the Alarm

Three stages in crisis event

•Denial

•Deliberation

•Decisive Moment

Response to the Event

Common for people to not admit that they are in a disaster or underestimate the severity costing time and lives

Denial

• 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

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

Denial

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

A decision must be made about what to doThis 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

Deliberation

• You will not have time to develop new plans• Taking time to decide may cost you / others their lives

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 Moment / ActionOnce 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

The basic response plan – A.D.D.

• Avoid the confrontation

• Deny access to your location

• Defend yourself

Decisive Action

• 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

Avoid

• Know escape routes for your location• Exits, windows, stairwells • Decide to leave or shelter in place• Often depends on suspect’s location

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

DenyMake 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

DenyThe 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…

DefendIf 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

DefendHiding 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!

Report to 911 and Officers•Location and number of attacker(s)•Physical descriptions and weapons•Location of victims / potential victims

When Police Arrive

What to expect•Uniformed and plain clothes – multiple agencies•Primary goal – Stop the killing•Priority of work

1. Find and confront the shooter• Will NOT stop to help the wounded• Will NOT escort people out

2. Help the wounded3. Clear people from the building

Understanding the POLICE point of view

• The situation will be chaotic

• They do not know who is a victim or suspect

When Police Arrive

• They will treat everyone as a suspect until proven otherwise

• Officers will be experiencing high stress, just like you

Respond Appropriately

• Follow commands (you might be handcuffed)

• Keep your hands visible at all times

• Do not move or move slowly if you must

When Police Arrive

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

Aftermath

• 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

Planning and Training

• 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.

Sample AS Policy

I Love You Guys Foundation – Standard Response Protocoliloveyouguys.org

Force Science Institute – The Lethal Employeeforcescience.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

Resources