America’s culture of violence continually manifests itself through horrific active shooter tragedies.
Leadership is critical from law enforcement, private security professionals, government officials, property managers, and all who are responsible for safeguarding individuals entrusted to their care.
Each and every person privileged to call America home must also be vigilant, and always aware of their surroundings.
Active Shooter Definition
As defined by the Department of Homeland Security: “An Active Shooter is an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area; in most cases, active shooters use firearms(s) and there is no pattern or method to their selection of victims. Active shooter situations are unpredictable and evolve quickly. Typically, the immediate deployment of law enforcement is required to stop the shooting and mitigate harm to victims. Because active shooter situations are often over within 10 to 15 minutes, before law enforcement arrives on the scene, individuals must be prepared both mentally and physically to deal with an active shooter situation.”American Mass Shootings: Fast Facts
The ten deadliest single day mass shootings in modern U.S. history crystalize the scope of the crisis.Dedication Demanded
Throughout my career, I have conducted hundreds of walkthroughs at sites to assess security. After many of these walkthroughs, my responsibility was to develop post orders for security personnel, action plans, and emergency contact information.Despite the importance of these procedures for protecting life and property, the deficiencies at many sites were often conspicuous.
Practical Preparedness Tips
Continuous active shooter tragedies remind us that incidents can happen any place and any time.There are steps that can be taken to prevent the threat.
The proactive mindset of preparedness includes the mantra, “If you see something, say something.” It also involves knowing plans at schools, campuses, houses of worship, and workplaces. Leadership must also ensure training, plans, and drills are implemented if they do not exist.
Situational awareness is also critical as one must always know exits whenever visiting facilities, malls, theaters, or public places.
According to FEMA, there are three options for survival during an incident which are as follows:
away. If safe to do so, warn others nearby. Call 911 when you are safe. Describe each shooter, their
locations, and weapons.
quiet. Silence your electronic devices and make sure they won’t vibrate. Lock and block doors, close
blinds, and turn off the lights. Don’t hide in groups— spread out along walls or hide separately to make
it more difficult for the shooter. Try to communicate with police silently—like through text messages or
by putting a sign in an exterior window. Stay in place until law enforcement gives you the all clear.
and act aggressively to stop the shooter. Ambushing the shooter together with makeshift weapons such
as chairs, fire extinguishers, scissors, and books can distract and disarm the shooter.
Final Reflections
America’s flag continues to fly at half-staff too often due to violent rampages against the innocent.Leadership must inspire vigilance and collaboration to prevent violence. We must have the determination, commitment, and courage to protect ourselves and others.
Training initiatives, security assessments, sound security measures, building police-community partnerships, professional security personnel, and responding effectively to warning signs are critical safeguards against active shooter tragedies.
These pillars must be inseparable from securing our communities against mass shooting tragedies and essential reawakening the nation.
