Staying Alert And Informed

Being involved in an active shooter event may be the most frightening experience of your life. You have to be both physically and mentally prepared should you ever become involved in what has become a prevalent threat today in almost any public space. With the proper active shooter training offered through Green Knight Security, you can learn how being informed and staying alert while you await the arrival of law enforcement can prevent you from becoming a target.

Being Informed Makes You Mentally Prepared During an Active Shooter Event

Seldom do we find ourselves having too much information. Being informed makes you ready, and prepared, and during an active shooter event, you want as much information as possible if you're going to survive. Receiving training for an active shooter event can provide you with the information you need to make it through one of these dangerous situations.

Being informed means you will know what to do during an active shooter event, and reduce your chances of panic. Reaction times are crucial, but they have to be ‘informed’ reactions, meaning you will need to have been informed on how to react.

• Your first instinct and the right instinct is to run to safety. Running is a good plan, but know you should leave all your possessions behind and escape quickly. If evacuating is possible, you need to move even if others are insisting on staying. Try to encourage them to go with you, but do not let their indecision slow your escape or efforts.

  When you have reached safety, warn as many others as possible of the threat and do not let others enter the area of danger.

  Call 911 immediately. Once law enforcement arrives, make sure you keep your hands visible. Remember they are entering a scene where they know danger is present, and will not initially understand where that danger is present. They will need to see your hands, so they know you are not that threat.

  Be prepared to give officials as much information as possible including a description of the shooter, where the shooter is located, the type of weapon being used and how many shots you have heard.

  The Police and other law enforcement personnel have been trained to deal with these situations. Follow all their instructions.

• If you know you cannot reach safety by running, then you need to know how to hide. You want a shelter that offers you a place out of sight of the shooter and if possible behind a locked door. If you cannot lock the door, look around the room and determine if there is furniture you can place in front of the entrance to keep the intruder out. Hide behind large pieces of furniture such as desks, couches, cabinets, or any item large enough to conceal your body.

  While hiding, you must remain as quiet as possible and stay in your location. If you have a cell phone on your person, turn the volumes down, so it does make any sound from calls or notifications. You should also dial 911; however, do not speak if the shooter will be able to hear your voice. You can leave the line open and allow the operator to listen to what is happening, only if the shooter can not hear their responses. Remain out of sight until law enforcement verifies the area is safe to leave.

• Fighting a shooter is your last alternative. When you’ve determined you cannot run and you cannot hide, then fight is your last chance to survive. Be aggressive and use a ‘pack’ approach if possible to attack the shooter. Grab any objects you can to use as weapons or to throw and try to distract them.

  Once you’ve decided to fight is your only option, you must stay committed to your decision. Yelling and acting aggressively will distract the shooter and give you options on how to react.

Learning how to react and being informed on what to expect during these events can help you save your life and possibly the lives of many around you. Knowing what actions you can expect when confronted by an active shooter will allow you to make decisions more rationally. One of the most significant issues during these events is the amount of panic they create. If you’ve been trained and know ahead of time how to plan an escape, you will be able to fight the sense of fear more easily and think more clearly on what your actions should be to save lives.

Training on how to deal with shooters also helps you to recognize potential violence indicators and show you how to take action to prepare and prevent potential shooter incidents. Behaviors are a good indicator if someone has the potential to use violence as retaliation. Violent tendencies can include overreaction to changes, increased severe mood swings or even an increase in the use of alcohol and illegal drugs. Knowing what can cause a person to become a potential shooter could help you divert an incident.

Why Being Alert During an Active Shooter Event is so Important

An active shooter is usually a single individual who has set out to kill as many people as possible in a confined and most often densely populated area. The typical method of killing is done with the use of a firearm, and they don’t usually have a pattern in how they select their victims.

The situation is going to evolve quickly as those around you begin to panic, scream, and run randomly searching for a way to escape. It is unlikely the shooter will stop shooting until law enforcement arrives on the scene to stop them, so how you react could save your life. Being alert is one of the best mental defenses you possess and is what could prevent you from becoming a target.

These are some of the ways to be alert:

• Always know where the exit doors are when you enter a public area. If shooting starts, you should be able to make your way towards these exits rather than randomly running away from the sounds.
• If you are in a separate room from where the shooting is occurring, stay there. Lock the door leading into the room and remain out of sight until law enforcement arrives. Stay alert and try to keep a mental image of where the shooter is outside the room, and know when the situation has become safe for you to leave.
• Any time you visit a public place, you need to be alert and aware of the environment. Don’t be taken off guard when a dangerous situation erupts and find yourself suddenly looking for a way to maneuver around the area.
• The best way to save your life during one of these events is to find an accessible escape path and get yourself and as many others as possible off the premises. To make this escape, you need to know which direction to go and this comes from being alert when you enter the area and mentally planning an escape route should something dangerous occur.

Find an Active Shooter Training Course Near Me

Green Knight Security 844-457-8326 offers active shooter drills and exercises to prepare you for one of the most frightening events in our world today. Serving Torrance, California and the surrounding areas, we can inform and help you understand how these events develop along with how staying alert will save lives.