Sixteen Deadly Errors for Active Shooter Defense
Committing any one or more of these deadly errors by either a person or an organization can result in the tragic loss of life. Anyone wishing to survive an armed encounter with an Active Shooter/Assailant would do well to heed this advice and avoid these errors.
1. Improper Active Shooter Defense Training:
o Training should not be a practical exercise for the local SWAT, but include at minimum these aspects;
o Thorough understanding of all essential elements:
Shooters comprise all ethnicities, genders, ages and occupations;
Shooters can be homicidal and suicidal;
Negotiation with a shooter is never wise;
There are practically no environment where these have not occurred in the past;
A shooter can be profiled and prevented;
Change Run-Hide-Fight to Run-Hide-Ambush
2. Not knowing Tactical Escapes from an area:
Notice where to how to hide to ambush;
Know and practice techniques and tactics to disarm and disable the shooter/assailant if/when you come face to face.
3. Bureaucratic Paralysis:
o Where either the people in leadership positions or through non-sensical policies hinder or prohibit law abiding citizens from properly defending themselves against a deadly threat.
4. Lack of Situational Awareness:
o When the people within an environment give visual clues that signal danger is present.
5. Failure to notice Danger Signs:
o What is present that should not be there, and
o What should be there but is missing.
6. Inability to recognize Armed Persons:
o The sighting of an armed person in the area.
7. Mistaking Gunshots for other sounds:
o When shots are fired but you excuse the sound for hammering or some other justification.
8. Failure to notice Signs of Commotion:
o When people are reacting to a threat by either yelling, screaming, running or other sounds of a violent disturbance.
Improper responses of Fight, Flight, or Freeze:
o The response a person has when danger is occurring. Choosing the appropriate response can be the difference between life and survival.
9. Failure to Act:
o When danger is obviously present and no action is taken by either you or the person in control of your environment. This is usually evident by the proverbial sticking one’s head in the sand to ignore, downplay or using less than real world practical solutions to address the threat.
10. Unaware of your Exits and Environment:
o Always know at least two different exits from an area. Those exits may be conventional (doors) or unconventional (windows).
11. Improper Use of Cover:
o Staying too long to hide under or behind an object that temporarily stops bullets. Or, hiding inside or underneath an object that prevents your ability to fight back should you come face to face with the shooter.
12. Not learning Last Resort Techniques:
o Know how to disarm and disable a shooter/assailant regardless of if they are armed with a handgun, long gun, or edged weapon.
13. Lack of Proper Equipment:
o For those who are legally armed, having their firearm of sufficient caliber, extra ammunition, a flashlight and a cell phone are just a few of the essential equipment required.
14. Failure to Engage the shooter/assailant:
o Having the ability to attack the shooter/assailant and exploit their moments of weaknesses will have deadly consequences.
15. Reluctance to Use Deadly force:
o There should never be a reluctance or hesitation to use deadly force to stop a person who has or is in the process of actively killing or attempting to kill innocent people.
16. Failure to prepare for the arrival of law enforcement:
o Law enforcement will respond and defenders need to also prepare for their arrival to avoid being seen as the threat and mistakenly being fired upon.