If you have school-aged children you need to teach them about how to respond to active shooting event so they can increase their chance of survival. We are not experts on mass shootings, but we have learned a thing or two from some people who are. In this article, we will share with you some of what have learned.
Many years ago, we bought bullet proof inserts for our children and grandchildren’s backpacks. Sad, we know, but as a parent and grandparent of four school-aged children it gave us peace of mind. You can purchase bullet proof inserts at places like bulletblocker.com.
Aside from protecting your children with bullet proof backpack inserts, the following advice may be helpful.
One of the key lessons we learned about surviving an active shooting event is that you must educate your children about multiple options for surviving that event. The single “lockdown in place” option is no longer ideal in all situations.
Here are the recommendations from the pros (these apply to all active shooter scenarios).
Escape
If your children hear shooting at a distance inside the school they have to move and move NOW! Your children need to know it’s okay to run out an exit door, climb out a window, or jump out a window. They need to know breaking a window or the glass on a door is okay. It can be fixed later. (Windows are easily broken by hitting them in the corner with a glass breaker). There are glass breakers available that can easily be carried in a backpack and which cannot be misidentified as a “weapon.”
Encouraging your children to think outside the box for escaping an active shooter event is encouraged. Advise them to identify all exit points in their school—not just the front door (this advice is for adults, too, you need to know more than one way out of a building in the case of any emergency). Tell them to take as many friends with them as possible. They need to know that it’s okay not to listen to an adult in the school (only in an active shooter scenario) if they have a way out. In the recent active shooter event in Florida there were kids who sheltered in place on the first floor when they heard shooting on a different floor because they were told to do that. Why? They should have escaped! Another example is found in the horrific Columbine High School active shooter event. Fourteen students died in the school’s library. They were ordered to shelter under tables by one of the teachers. There was an exit door just feet away that they could have escaped through. They died in that room because they were told to take cover instead of being told to escape through the exit.
Lockdown and Barricade
If the shooting is close (your children will know if it’s close) the teachers and children must lockdown and barricade their classroom door. This is the best option when the shooter is close. Every possible object that can be pushed in front of a door or window must be pushed there. Someone in the room will need to motivate the others to start stacking objects high and deep because odds are that many of the students and perhaps the teacher will initially freeze in place. Tell your child that it is okay to tell people in the room what to do and when to do it.
In the Florida active shooter event the gunman shot out a classroom door window stuck the gun through the opening into the classroom and opened fire. There is video from inside a classroom when police SWAT officers enter the classroom. There was no barricade (the door was locked, fortunately) and everyone was huddled in the corner. This would not have been a good situation if the gunman was able to break through the door.
Call 911
If your children are in the middle of an active shooter event and if they have escaped or if they have barricaded and locked down in their classroom then remind them how important it is for them to call 911 (if they can do that safely). In the Florida active shooting event children were texting their parents and others asking them to call 911. At a minimum your child should call 911 and say “shooting at XYZ school” and hang up. Help will come. Lots of it.
Swarm
When age appropriate, the last resort is to physically overwhelm the attacker. Any and all objects become force multipliers. Fire extinguishers, laptops, IPad, IPhones, books, chairs, scissors, pencils, etc. when thrown at the shooter can disrupt the attacker’s focus. Everyone huddling in a corner in the classroom is not the best option. They have to be ready to swarm the attacker with objects.
As a last resort, with older high school-aged children, some of the stronger students may be able to physically swarm the shooter and bring him to the ground and hold him there until the police arrive. They should disarm the attacker by removing the firearm from his hands if this can be done safely without injuring other students.
Also, for older children, they should learn a self-defense martial art (we prefer Gracie Jiu Jitsu), which could be an effective way to physically swarm an attacker.
Learn How to Stop Bleeding
Many victims who die in active shooter events die because of blood loss. If the loss of blood could have been stopped they may have survived. In the Sandy Hook active shooting event it was estimated that many of the students’ lives could have been saved with tourniquets. One of the most effective ways to stop significant arterial blood loss is by using a tourniquet. Make sure your kids have a tourniquet in their backpacks and know how to use it.
Learn to Recognize Firearm Functioning
Also, for older children, make sure they have a basic understanding of how firearms work. They need to know how to identify when a firearm is empty or when it has malfunctioned.
Hold Your School System Accountable
Insist that your school system harden security at all schools in the system. Insist that school resource officers are trained marksmen and not just overweight “Barney Fife” types with a handgun on their hips.
Nothing May Work
All of the above might seem like a daunting task but you and your children need to learn how to survive an active shooter event. However, it is important to know that none of the above may work. It’s possible to do everything right and still lose.
However, we don’t train people to die, and we don’t train them to lose. We train them to win—at any cost. So, make sure you and your children get training on how to survive an active shooter event.
Pray
Lastly, if you are inclined to do so, pray for our children. Pray for their protection. Pray for their safety. Pray for them to have the courage to take action when needed.
These aren’t the answers to every scenario but this is what our children and grandchildren have been taught.
Related Spartan Firearms Training Group Training
Spartan Firearms Training Group offers the following training:
1. Active Shooter Defense course that provides more detailed guidance on what to do and when, including activities related to barricading and locking down a room.
2. Emergency Casualty Care Course (E-Triple C) that teaches how to stop bleeding, including the proper use of tourniquets.
3. Firearms Nomenclature and Safety Course that teaches you and your children about how firearms function.
Links
FBI 2018 Report on Active Shooters
https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/active-shooter-incidents-in-the-us-2018-041019.pdf/view