BASIC SAFETY TIPS: SURVIVING A SHOOTING

Before starting here is a major, key, rule of thumb: If you hear someone talking about planning or wanting to plan a shooting of any kind tell someone!  In the end, more than anything else, this will stop this kind of tragedy before it ever happens.  So many times, after the fact, survivors have come forward with claims that the shooter had mentioned previously of his/her plans...Imagine if someone had acted beforehand?

Before:

Even if there’s no “I’m going to pull a Columbine” style warning there are still ways to catch sight of the potential for danger before it happens. Be aware of changes or oddities in your environment such as your classrooms, hallways, and other such places. You should know what a safe and routine environment looks like and when something is out-of-place or just feels wrong. Anyone or anything that causes ripples or changes by his or her presence should cause your Spidey Senses to throb. Evaluate and assess what you are seeing. If someone kicks off your gut feelings by the way he or she moves, looks at you, etc., take it seriously. Trust your gut!  If something feels wrong, if that little voice in your head tells you to get the hell out of the area, then get the hell out of area.  Too often people second guess their instincts and regret it in the end.

Always have an action plan as well. Ask yourself what you would do if a student, coworker, or intruder barged into your classroom or office with a gun. Know your exit strategy and think of what you’d do if getting away wasn’t an option. The key is to be willing and prepared to act whenever action is needed.

Spotting a Shooter:

Body language is key here! If the gun is in his (most shooters like this are male so we’ll stick with male pronouns) waistband on his hip he will favor that side as he walks. He will short-step on the side where he is carrying the weapon when he goes up and down stairs because the weapon is against his hip flexor. He will subconsciously turn away toward the side where the weapon is hidden when security or other persons of authority (such as teachers) walk directly towards him. He will hold his jacket, shirt, or coat closed as he walks. Every moment or so, he may touch or pat the area where his weapon is tucked away, subconsciously reassuring himself. If the weapon is in his coat pocket, his collar may be unusually tight to his neck, and, if the weapon is heavy, the collar may also be twisted. He will hold the pocket where the gun is secreted when he walks or runs to keep the pocket, and thus the weapon, from flying away from his body. He will also hold that side of his coat as he sits or rises. He will favor heavy coats, even in hot weather, to help him better secrete the weapon.  (It's not a "Trench Coat Mafia" thing; it's a "trench coat helps hide my big gun" thing.) He will often give himself away just before he pulls the weapon from its hiding place by opening and/or pushing back his coat and/or grabbing the bottom of the pocket with his non-gun hand to stabilize the coat as he extracts the firearm.

Also note other oddities in addition to the above-mentioned appearances and behaviors. Someone who never carried a bag to school or work bringing one, especially if it appears overly full and/or awkwardly packed (it may contain ammo), or suddenly wearing clothes that aren’t appropriate for the environment but maybe appropriate if they intend to start a massacre (such as that heavy coat mentioned earlier).

During:

Run!  A little obvious, yes, but there's more to it than that.  Don't just turn and bolt; instead run in zig-zags, take sharp corners when possible, and lower yourself a little if you can. Try and keep something – a chair, a desk, anything – between you and the gunman at all times.  He's either going to be shooting blindly or at the easiest targets and keeping yourself as blocked as possible will help prevent him from hitting you. The idea is to do anything to make you a harder target.

"Lock and Block"…as in, if you're in a room and know a shooter’s headed towards you, lock that door and block it with whatever's handy.  Move desks, chairs, and whatever heavy furniture's available against the frame.  The idea is simple – don't make it easy for the shooter. (This tactic worked in saving numerous lives when professors and students used locks, themselves, and large tables to barricade the doors to their classrooms and officer during the Virginia Tech shooting on April 16, 2007.)

Break the script.  Shooters have a script in their head.  Like serial killers, shooting up the place has been something they've played over and over in their minds for a long while before they acted on it.  And, like with a serial killer, reacting in a way they don't expect is really going to disrupt their plans and whatever roll they might already been on.  So (assuming "Lock and Block" didn't work or isn't an option) don't huddle, hide, and pray like he wants...instead attack.  Throw books and whatever else is handy at him.  Scream at him and refuse to be afraid or controlled by the shooter.  Whatever upsets his delicate mental image of a perfect attack is good for you.

"Charge and Barge".  If possible, hold something in front of you like a shield and charge him with an army of teachers, security, and/or students.  Even if you don't have a shield if there's a group of you in a room charge!  Yes, somebody may get shot, but there's only one shooter and a large group of you so odds are high you all will be able to overpower him.  You will be wresting psychological – by breaking that script of his – and physical control from the shooter and stopping things before they get far worse.  (This has, in fact, been done and worked successfully a few times; one of the most recent incidents being a pair of teachers who tackled a school shooter at Deer Creek Middle School in Littleton, Colorado on February 2010.)