WHAT TO DO WHEN THERE’S A GUNMAN
oday, we’ll get right into the topic, and we’ll keep it short and simple. This is the standard procedure that you should follow when an active shooter is around you.
First, begin by not screaming as difficult as it can be. You don’t want to become an obvious target by telling the gunman, “I’m here.”
“Run, Hide, Fight”
“Run, hide, fight” is the phrase we often hear. It is the order of priority and is NOT the order of procedure. Therefore, the phrase means:
- If you can run, run away.
- If you cannot run, hide from the shooter.
- If you cannot hide or the gunman finds you, then physically fight the gunman.
The phrase does NOT mean “run, then hide, then fight.”
-Run
If there is a safe way to run away from the gunman, that is your best option. If you are alerting other people in the building, yell “gun!” but do NOT pull the fire alarm. If you activate the fire alarm, other people can be confused that there is a fire and run into areas that can be dangerous.
Jump out of windows if it’s reasonably safe to do so and there are no other escape routes.
-Hide
If you cannot run away, you should hide. Try to find a room with a door that can lock and block the door. If you can’t hide in a safe room, at least cover yourself with something. Go under a desk or behind a sturdy piece of furniture. Having some protection is always better than not having any protection at all. Stay low to the ground to avoid getting shot, but do NOT lie down. If you lie down, it will be hard for you to move when you need to.
Turn your cellphone on silent mode, but do not turn it off so that you can call the police. The emergency number in the U.S. is 911.
If you can’t speak because the gunman might hear you, leave the line connected so that the operator can hear what’s going on.
-Fight
Fighting should be the last option if everything else fails. You are facing a gunman who is crazy enough to try to shoot innocent people. Trying to have a calm and logical conversation most likely won’t work.
Throw things at the gunman. Do your best to get him to stop. Use whatever you find as a weapon if you don’t have a gun on you. Glass, hammer, chair, grab anything that can potentially knock the gunman down.
When the Police Arrives.
The first police team to arrive probably won’t be the ones to aid you even if you’re wounded. They are there to first take down the active shooter.
- Don’t ask the officers questions.
- Don’t ask the officers to help you.
- Don’t run towards the officers immediately.
- Don’t use the officers as a shield to defend yourself.
- Don’t hug the officers or expect them to comfort you.
When the officers first arrive, they might not be able to tell immediately who the gunman is. Hold both of your hands up in the air with fingers spread out. Make it visible to the officers that you don’t have anything in your hands. Listen to all instructions given by the officers.
If you are wounded, the paramedics with more police officers will follow the first team to come rescue you.
Further Read
On its website, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has a thorough instruction on what to do when there is an active shooter. Read it here.
The chances are pretty slim that you would ever be a victim of a gun related incident in the United States, but we’ll get to the statistics in a separate article. However, it does happen as we see on the news, and everyone should be prepared for the situation no matter where they are.
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