Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of the shootings in Colorado. The greatest horror is the realization that such incidents are all-too-easy to commit. How should organizations plan to protect their students, staff, congregants and others?

Recommendations (scroll down for resources)

There are no perfect solutions, but planning and training can mitigate active shooter incidents. The first step is maintaining good access control. Keeping someone who wants to do harm outside is the best way of protecting those inside.

• Evacuate: Building occupants should evacuate the facility if safe to do so; evacuees should leave behind their belongings, visualize their entire escape route before beginning to move, and avoid using elevators or escalators.
• Hide: If evacuating the facility is not possible, building occupants should hide in a secure area (preferably a designated shelter location), lock the door, blockade the door with heavy furniture, cover all windows, turn off all lights, silence any electronic devices, lie on the floor, and remain silent.
• Take Action: If neither evacuating the facility nor seeking shelter is possible, building occupants should attempt to disrupt and/or incapacitate the active shooter by throwing objects, using aggressive force, and yelling.
• Other considerations?
  • Train building occupants to call 911 as soon as it is safe to do so.
  • Train building occupants on how to respond when law enforcement arrives on scene.
  • follow all official instructions, remain calm, keep hands empty and visible at all times, and avoid making sudden or alarming movements.

Summer camps

Summer camps bring special challenges, especially when the campers are young. Planning and training may be even more critical, but the general guidance remains:

• Evacuate. Staff should know your plan and be able to evacuate to a safer area, if possible. It will be difficult to run with groups of young children.
• Hide. Summer camp structures are rarely constructed in a way to withstand an attack by a determined intruder and they rarely have heavy furniture that might be used to blockade a door. If no secure structure is available, consider designating scattered, but assigned, assembly points for each small camper group. By making an intruder search for victims (over many acres of campgrounds)  this tactic buys some of the  time necessary for help to respond. Staff should be prepared with “quiet activities” alternatives. This is a situation when good communication can be the difference between life and death.
• Take action. The actions available in summer camps are dependent on the ages and abilities of the groups involved.

Resources

• Active Shooter: Recommendations and Analysis for Risk Mitigation (NYPD)
•  Active Shooter: How to Respond with the companion pocket card and the poster (DHS)
• Active Shooter Awareness Virtual Roundtable (DHS video)