SRS employees attended an Active Shooter Training Session yesterday. Here's what we learned:

When an Active Shooter is in your vicinity, you must be prepared both mentally and physically to deal with the situation.

An “active shooter” is an individual who is 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 except they want their body count to be high. Victims are selected at random & the event is unpredictable and evolves quickly. Law enforcement is usually required to end an active shooter situation.

If you (hopefully never) find yourself in an active shooter situation:
1.      Run
  • Have an escape route and plan in mind
  • Leave your belongings behind
  • Evacuate regardless of whether others agree to follow
  • Help others escape, if possible
  • Do not attempt to move the wounded
  • Prevent others from entering an area where the active shooter may be
  • Call 911 when you are safe
2.      Hide
  • Hide in an area out of the shooter’s view
  • Lock door or block entry to your hiding place
  •  Silence your cell phone (including vibrate
  • mode) and remain quiet
  • Barricade the doors with the heaviest items closest to the door.
  • Make a secondary barricade as an added deterrent.


3.      Fight
  • Fight as a last resort and only when your life is in imminent danger
  • Attempt to incapacitate the shooter
  • Act with as much physical aggression as possible

The first officers to arrive on scene will not stop to help the injured. Expect rescue teams to follow initial officers. These rescue teams will treat and remove injured. The officers main objective is to find the bad guy and eliminate the threat.

Once you have reached a safe location, you will likely be held in that area by law enforcement until the situation is under control, and all witnesses have been identified and questioned. Do not leave the area until law enforcement authorities have instructed you to do so.

Stay safe, everyone!