Developing a comprehensive
active shooter program should include aspects addressing readiness planning, response protocols, and recovery interventions.
To help answer these security questions, it is first useful to define the term "
active shooter" and look at the history and information that surrounds this threat.
The alarm rang out on a stormy Sunday night, rattling employees at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock and conjuring up two words that strike fear in modern American life: "
active shooter."
Battelle has developed a system that can notify police and security forces within moments of the first shots fired during an
active shooter situation.
Some faculty and staff are quite capable of carrying concealed weapons on campus and adding another level of security against the threat of an
active shooter.
Leeza Hoyt, a spokesperson for IRC, confirmed that the center's staff had undergone
active shooter training but could not reveal specifics.
But just as schools teach children what to do during a tornado, or companies invest in extinguishers and alarms in case of a fire, it's important to have a contingency plan for an
active shooter situation.
The Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of the Army familiarize students with the term
active shooter in their annual Antiterrorism Level I Awareness Training, active-shooter classes, and protection exercises.
Homeland Security guidelines on what to do in a situation involving an
active shooter.
One of the most common responses has been to add "
active shooter" or "school intruder" drills to the list of general emergency drills that 32 states already require schools to conduct for earthquakes, fires, tornadoes and other potential disasters.
One of the most overlooked components in an "
active shooter" response policy in a healthcare facility also is the main focus of your dayto-day routine: the care and well-being of your residents.
The place to start is training, and while more and more training companies are offering courses on individual response to the
active shooter, many cannot afford the time or money.