1. Active Shooter: Safety Training & preparedness
Tommy Blankenship
Senior safety specialist
Department of Juvenile Justice

2. Training Objectives
DJJ employees will be provided with statistical information regarding active shooter events.
Employees will learn about the human stress response, to better understand and control how they may feel and act in the event of an active shooter.
Employees will be trained in survival techniques, informed by the FBI and Department of Homeland Security, to use in the case of an active shooter event.
These survival skills can be used in an active shooter event in any setting. Employees can use this information to further train friends and family members.
*Give trigger warning

3. Training goal
To achieve unconscious competence in active shooter preparedness
Conscious competence – when you are doing something right but you have to consciously focus on doing it the right way
Unconscious competence – when you are doing something right and you don’t even have to think about it

4. What is an Active Shooter?
One or more individuals, actively engaged in killing, or attempting to kill people, in a populated area.
Random events
Different purposes
Unpredictable locations
No specific “profile”
An active shooter is an individual, or individuals, actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area, and recent active shooter incidents have underscored the need for coordinated response by law enforcement and others to save lives. As individuals we need to train to survive these events in our workplace. Active shooter events are random with different purposes carried out by varied individuals in unpredictable locations. Recent locations include: schools, churches, workplaces, trains, marathon events, concert halls, streets, malls, movies, etc. It’s imperative to be informed and prepared to take action for survival during these events.

5. Survival
Planning, preparation, and rehearsal are crucial to survival in an active shooter event.
Fear, chaos, and panic are expected and unavoidable.
Proper planning can help minimize these responses.

6. FBI Statistics
FBI Releases Study on Active Shooter Incidents - Covers Time Frame:

7. FBI Statistics
Active shooter incidents are becoming more frequent – by almost threefold
: Average of 6.4 incidents annually
: Average of 16.4 incidents annually
These incidents resulted in a total of 1,043 casualties from
486 killed, 557 wounded
10% of incidents occurred on government property
6.9% (11 incidents) occurred on government property other than military property
average of 20 active shooter incidents annually
FBI Releases Study on Active Shooter Incidents - Covers Time Frame:

8. FBI Statistics
All but six of the 160 incidents involved male shooters & only two involved multiple shooters
More than half of the incidents—90 shootings— ended on the shooter’s initiative (i.e., suicide, fleeing)
21 incidents ended after unarmed citizens successfully restrained the shooter
21 of the 45 incidents where law enforcement had to engage the shooter to end the threat, nine officers were killed and 28 were wounded
5 incidents involved armed citizens exchanging gunfire with the shooter
4 were off-duty law enforcement officers/security guards
Data through *Only 2 involved multiple shooters – does not include most recent event that occurred in San Bernardino
FBI Releases Study on Active Shooter Incidents - Covers Time Frame:

9. The Stress Response: Fight, Flight, or Freeze
Brain perceives threat
Autonomic Nervous System takes over
Adrenaline and other stress hormones flood body
Decision making & problem solving become very difficult
Your body prepares, both physically and psychologically, to either fight back, or run away from danger – but sometimes your brain becomes overwhelmed by the threat and/or your body’s response and freezes.
In Virginia Tech shooting - Many survivors reported falling to the ground upon hearing the shots and entering what they described as a type of catatonic trance even though they had not been hit. In an active shooter event, freezing is a common first response, but NOT the best response.
The Normalcy Bias: a mental state people enter when facing a disaster. It causes people to underestimate both the possibility of a disaster and its possible effects (wikipedia)
Brain perceives threat
Autonomic Nervous System takes over
Adrenaline and other stress hormones flood body
Heart beats faster
Breathing becomes more rapid
Vision heightens
Blood goes to large muscles
Decision making, problem solving, and cognitive processing become very difficult as your body has allocated energy and resources elsewhere
Beware of Normalcy Bias
Gunshots or fireworks?

10. Planning & Preparation
Your survival in an active shooter event may depend on whether you have a plan. The plan doesn’t have to be complicated. There are three things you can do to make a difference:
Run – Avoid
Hide – Deny
FBI run, hide, fight video – 6 mins:
Fight – Distract, Disrupt, & Disarm

11. run
Always try to evacuate. Encourage others to leave with you, but don’t let them slow you down with indecision. Remember what’s important: YOU, not your stuff. Leave your belongings behind.
If there is an escape path, attempt to evacuate
Evacuate whether others agree to or not
Leave your belongings behind
Help others if possible
Prevent others from entering the area
Call when you are safe

12. Hide
If you can’t get out safely, you need to find a place to hide. Act quickly and quietly. If you can’t find a safe room or closet, try to conceal yourself behind large objects that may protect you.
Lock and/or blockade the door
Silence your cell phone & turn off the lights
Hide behind large objects
Remain calm and very quiet
Your hiding place should be out of the shooter’s view (concealment), it should provide you with protection from bullets (cover), and it should not trap or restrict you
*Locking the door is the most effective strategy in active shooter events – as of 2013 there were no known cases of active shooters getting through locked doors

13. Fight
As a last resort, if your life is at risk, whether you are alone or working together as a group, fight! Act with aggression. Improvise weapons. Disarm the shooter and commit to taking the shooter down, no matter what.
Attempt to incapacitate the shooter
Act with physical aggression
Improvise weapons
Commit to your actions
Distract, Disrupt, and Disarm

14. What to expect: Information to give to 9-1-1
Location of shooter(s)
Number of shooter(s)
Physical description of shooter(s)
Number and type of weapons held by shooter(s)
Number of potential victims at location

15. What to expect: When Law Enforcement Arrives
The first responders on the scene are NOT there to evacuate or tend to the injured. They are well-trained, and are there to stop the shooter.
Remain calm and follow instructions
Keep your hands visible at all times
Avoid pointing or yelling
Know that help for the injured is on the way

16. Always, always…
BE AWARE
OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS!

17. Active Shooter Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VcSwejU2D0
Another training video: Options for Consideration Active Shooter Training Video:
from Homeland Security: