Surviving an Active Shooter and Mass Casualty Event

What unbelievable times we are living in right here in America. In a country that just a few decades ago seemed above such carnage, we now find ourselves in one of the deadliest, self-inflicted periods of our American history. Forget the horrific shootings of the past and look at what is happening all around us. In the first six months of 2022, Insider.com reported that we had experienced 314 mass casualty shootings in our United States, with one just occurring on the day we celebrate our independence and freedom. It is shameful that we even have to consider readying ourselves for the possibility, but outright appalling that we MUST prepare ourselves for such events.

From the tragedies of the early active shooter incidents in high schools and places of business across this nation, a survival protocol called Run, Hide, Fight was born. Created by the City of Houston, Texas, and the Department of Homeland Security, a six-minute video survival guide has grown into a national protocol on what to do when an armed perpetrator enters a public or private business with the intent to kill. Well, that was then, and this is now. These killers have now taken to public venues where large crowds of people congregate to maximize the number killed and to make even grander statements of notoriety. Take the October 1 shooting at the outdoor concert in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the most recent Independence parade shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, for example. They chose these targets to spread fear and inflict the most pain on those communities.

Situational Awareness

I have written many times on the subject of situational awareness as it pertains to home security and personal safety. Situational awareness is a mental and physical process. It is an examination of our behaviors, the vulnerabilities present in ourselves, and the places we visit. As a former law enforcement officer, situational awareness was ingrained in me for my survival. I consistently played the "what if" game in my head while on patrol, executing search warrants, running operations, or during training scenarios. It is what kept me and other officers like myself safe while performing our duties. In fact, it is something that I do even today, and I have been retired since 2019!

Situational awareness begins with understanding our awareness levels and tendencies in a given environment. If you can remember back to an earlier writing of mine, I covered the condition colors of awareness. To help refresh your minds, I will ask again if you have ever heard the term "condition white"? Condition white is commonly referred to as being totally unaware of your surroundings and unprepared for even the prospect of danger. Unfortunately, this is the very condition that most people operate in daily. We walk around self-absorbed, heads buried in our cell phones, and oblivious to our world. It makes us a target, even in the broadest of daylight. It is the worst level of awareness for one's personal safety.

Conversely, in condition yellow, you are relaxed but alert. You are not expecting trouble, but you know your environment, so you would recognize a problem if it arose. In the next level, condition orange, you know there seems to be a problem, and your body reacts. For example, you are aware that you are in a bad place and that danger is imminent, so you take evasive action. This is where we need to be to maintain a healthy sense of safety.

Lastly, we will cover condition red. In this state of awareness, you are likely fighting for your life or the life of another. If not, you are certainly preparing for this possibility, and your body and mind are preparing themselves. Moving through the processes of these awareness levels most often occurs without any real physical activity on your part, but awareness needs a mental process to occur if you want to survive. The key here is that you are mentally and physically prepared to act should conflict or danger present itself.

Gordon Graham talks about Grey Rhinos beings a 4000-pound beast of danger that stares us in the face. To be prepared, you must address the security issues staring you in the face when it comes to the probability of something bad happening. Do we tempt fate with poor habits? Do we ignore the obvious and hope that it will not happen to us? Do we simply hope to get out of the way in time to escape the harm? None of this is a good plan in an active shooter event.

Training Situational Awareness

To become proficient with any skill, you must practice, practice, practice. They say it takes 21 days for something to become a habit. Well, I challenge that thought and say it takes a bit longer and with considerable, ongoing maintenance to develop superior skills. So how does one prepare for such rare events? It begins with the simplest of things like knowing where your exits are regardless of being indoors or outdoors. Police officers are keenly aware of exit points in case they are needed. Likewise, I don't know too many officers who feel good about having their backs facing the entrances. How can you see trouble coming if you are facing the wrong direction?

The same is true when you are in public spaces. If you remember the CPTED discussions on ambush points, you can extrapolate those lessons to surviving a mass shooting event. When attending events or presenting yourself in public spaces, do you know how to leave the area quickly and safely? Do you know where your retreat points are, and do they provide cover or concealment? Are you considering where potential threats may emanate? I know this sounds paranoid, and some of my readers may say things like "I can't live like that" or "I can't live in fear." Well, my response is you might NOT live without being like this. My former profession has lost many an officer to such thought processes.

The last thing to stress in situational awareness is the people around you. Are you paying attention to their behavior or their actions? Are they acting suspiciously or looking out of place? Do they seem odd to you? I don't know how many times throughout my career people came forward after the fact and said that a person's conduct was alarming. In law enforcement, we referred to this as JDLR (Just Don't Look Right). People think police officers have a sixth sense, and in some respects, we do, but in reality, it is just an over-developed sense of knowing behaviors that are odd or inconsistent with what is expected. This recognition skill of human behavior protects us from harm and helps us identify people who are up to no good or have malicious intentions.

Cover vs. Concealment

Knowing the difference between cover and concealment is the difference between living and dying in tactical situations. Concealment means that the location you have retreated to provides a visual barrier to hide or reduce your exposure, but it will likely not stop a bullet's path. For example, a large bush or a wooden fence may hide you, thus concealing you from view, but if an errant round traveled in your direction, you would still be in peril. Cover, on the other hand, is a solid object that provides the protection of stopping bullets and visual concealment. Therefore, in open spaces and when thinking tactically, you should be aware of locations that offer cover—places like solid concrete walls, large tree trunks, parked vehicles, and other solidly constructed items.

Obviously, if you can retreat inside a structure, do so. But don't stop running until you reach the middle and can locate something solid to hide behind. Then, ideally, and if it is safe to leave that location, continue running out the back of that building and get as far as safely possible away from the "kill zone." The kill zone is the entire area that a shooter can see, access, and cause harm. If within a building, getting out is your best bet. But if we have learned anything from the active shooter training videos, a good hiding place behind locked doors may be enough to survive.

Sound of Gunfire

At a distance, gunfire can sound like fireworks or a car backfiring but make no assumptions about what you hear. If you are unsure of the source of that sound, you are better off taking precautions.

It is not uncommon for people to freeze and look for confirmation in others. Just remember they may be displaying this exact reaction while a gunman is firing into a crowd. Act decisively and do not follow the crowd. You can't rely on anyone else's level of awareness or preparedness. You must assess the situation in the totality of the circumstances for yourself. From what direction did you hear the shots? Do you see injured people, and what is their location in relation to yours? In which direction are people fleeing? These few signs, and others, may help guide your retreat. If you have worked on your situational awareness, then trust your instincts and ACT. Inaction or laying down instinctually with your hands covering your head will not get you out of the kill zone. Whether indoors or in open spaces, you must exit this zone if you wish to survive.

In the thick of it

I have never been in an actual shooting or gun battle personally. However, I have found myself tactically assigned during one. Those who have experienced war or engaged in a gun battle most certainly provide greater detail on the thought processes that occur during those events. However, I have received extensive training in surviving an armed assailant, which helped me stay safe in unsafe situations.

If you successfully escape the immediate danger of the kill zone, you must continue to think if you want to survive an additional attack. If you are alone, be decisive in your movements. Get to safety as quickly as possible using cover and strategic movement. If you find that you are moving with a group, take the lead. Do not wait for someone to step up. They may not. Again, knowing that you have mentally and physically prepared yourself makes you just as capable and qualified to lead as anyone else; perhaps even more so.

Remember the exits and the area layout that you made mental notes of before the danger erupted. Buildings are required to have numerous fire exits for egress. Get to them to facilitate your escape. The same applies to open, public spaces. Remember where the entrance was and where additional points of exit may exist. It may be as simple as jumping a wall or running to points of egress such as open roadways or alleys. This is the run portion of Run, Hide, Fight.

If running is not possible, then getting to a place that provides cover or concealment may be your only option. Try to get to a defensible location. Get to a room that you can lock and/or barricade. Once inside, find whatever you can to use as a weapon should the assailant attempt to make entry. If you are hiding with a group, make a plan of attack and work together to overpower the assailant.

Lastly, if you can neither run nor hide, you are too close to the action and may have to fight to survive. If this is the case, remember, there is no fighting fair. You are fighting for your life and possibly the lives of others. You fight to WIN. Losing is not an option. Give it your all…your last breath if necessary.

Stop to Access

In an active shooter scenario, there will be a lot to access. If you have not cleared the area, you will need to continue to access the situation as it unfolds. Is there more than one shooter? If the shooting stops, did he commit suicide, which is common in these events, or was he taken out by another bystander or the police? What kind of injuries have you sustained? Are those who are with you injured?

Do not assume that it is over when the shooting stops. The gunman may be reloading or on the move to hunt those who escaped claiming additional victims. But, again, he may not be the only shooter, so you could be leaving a point of safety and walking into a deadly situation. Make careful assessments before making a move. Never assume the situation is clear until declared by someone of authority, preferably a first responder.

Silence your cell phone or other noise-producing devices. If you are forced into hiding, you do not want to give away your location when your phone rings. Loved ones will likely call you if they know you were in the area of the event. Don't give the perpetrators any clues to your location. If you have gone to ground and are hiding, now is the time to call 911.

Calling 911

If you can call 911, provide as much detail as you can remember. Provide your name, description, and location, so law enforcement knows where you are. Make mental notes of what you just experienced. For example, how many shooters are there, the types of weapons used, the location where the first shots occurred, a description of the shooter if you observed him, and any information on potential victims.

There are so many possibilities to cover when calling 911. The best I can tell you is "be a good witness" and note as much detail as possible.

Exiting the Scene

Remember that law enforcement is running towards the danger as you are fleeing from it. They will not know if you are a friend or a foe. Do not run directly at an armed officer because they may not recognize the difference, especially if you are carrying something in your hands. In law enforcement, we are taught that hands kill. So, get your hands up and show the officers that you are not armed as you approach. Tell them you are a victim or let them know you are fleeing the scene. This may seem odd to you, but it is easy to get confused in chaotic situations. The officers are only human and experience the same fear and anxiety that you do; they are just trained to control it and fight through it so they can render aid to those who can't.

Do exactly as they order you to do. If the officer(s) yell and scream at you to get on the ground, DO SO! Don't argue or try to reason with them; it is neither the time nor place. Just follow their instructions and know that you made it out alive. Once they have you in a position where they feel safe, they will soon realize that you are a survivor.

Final Thoughts

To be a survivor, you must think and act like a survivor. If you survive the first few seconds of an armed encounter, your chances of survival increase dramatically based on the decisions you make under pressure. After that, there are no right or wrong answers, just inaction. No one can write a definitive playbook for such encounters and that is not the intention of this posting. All we can do is provide suggestions and stress the importance of preparedness and taking action.

Here at Boss Security Screens, we stress preparedness and taking action. We pray that none of our readers, or anyone for that matter, ever have to experience such tragedy. But unfortunately, that is not the direction our society has taken. So I implore you to work on your awareness. Think tactically when you, your friends, and your family are in public venues. And above all, always have a plan.   

Until next time….be safe and be prepared!  

Written by,

Michael Johnston

Chief Security Advisor at Boss Security Screens

 About Michael Johnston:

Michael was born and raised in rural Nebraska. He began his law enforcement career in 1989 with the Lincoln Police Department, Lincoln, NE, where he worked as a patrol officer for nearly four years. Michael joined the Henderson Police Department in 1993, first as a Corrections Officer and later as a Police Officer in June of 1995. During his tenure, Michael has worked as a Patrol Officer, Field Training Officer, Officer in Charge, Crisis Negotiator, K-9 Handler, and Narcotics Investigator. He was promoted to Sergeant in 2005 and moved to the Investigations Division, where he supervised the Property and Special Victims Units. In 2009, Michael was promoted to Lieutenant, where he served as a Watch Commander in patrol and supervisor of the Community Relations Unit. In March of 2013, he became one of eight (8) Captains for the Henderson Police Department Command Team. Michael led the Special Services Division overseeing SWAT, K-9, and Motors but later took the lead as Division Commander of the Investigative Services Division until late 2017. Michael finished his career as the East Area Commander before retiring in early 2019. Immediately after retirement, Michael transitioned to the gaming industry, where he served as the Director of Security and Risk Assessment for Boulder Hwy Gaming and Water St Gaming, LLC. Michael created security strategies, training programs, and policies that reduced security risks and mitigated organizational liabilities. In late 2021, Michael opened Code 4 Consulting; Private Investigations (NV PILB LIC #3090). His company provides a broad spectrum of investigative services, case reviews, expert witness support, and executive protection. He also supports organizations with employee training, compliance, risk assessment, and prevention strategies to target organizational issues that create corporate risk and liability. Michael now joins Boss Security Screens as our Chief Security Advisor. Incorporating his training, experience, and expertise into our operation brings our customers valuable content and insight.

*The author is a paid consultant and product representative for Boss Security Screens. The information provided in this blog does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials are the author's opinion and for general informational purposes only. It is recommended that you consult an attorney, certified trainers, or licensed providers before acting on any information provided. This website may link to other third-party websites. Such links are for the convenience of the reader and are not endorsed by the author.