People have three options when confronted with an active shooter situation: run, hide or fight. That was the word from former Delaware County Sheriff and current county liaison to Homeland Security Joe McGinn.
McGinn’s comments came during a March 23 presentation hosted by the Chadds Ford Township Community Emergency Response Team.
McGinn said an active shooter situation could happen anywhere or at anytime. It can start out as a robbery or burglary that deteriorates into violence, a workplace situation involving a disgruntled customer or employee, a case of domestic violence, or as an act of terrorism.
However, McGinn added, “Every active shooter has an agenda. That agenda is to take you out.”
The first thing a person should do happens before confrontation with a violent person. That first step is situational awareness. McGinn said people, when out in public, should operate on “yellow alert,” being relaxed, yet alert to all situations, much like driving defensively. In that relaxed, alert state, a person can spot things ahead of time in order to avoid being in a bad situation.
One point to be aware of, he said, is to know where the exits are in any building you enter.
“I don’t go anywhere without learning the location of exits,” he said.
But situational awareness can’t always prevent a bad situation. In those cases, the order of action should be run, hide and fight.
The first thing a person should do is run away, if possible. Leave your belongings where they are and move quickly to the nearest exit. Try to get others to escape with you. Get out of the building, prevent others from gong in, and then call 911.
If escape is not an option, hide. But cowering under a desk is not good hiding. Getting into a room that can be locked is a far better option. Lock and barricade the door, turn off the lights, keep quiet, and turn off cellphone ringers.
But even while hiding, people should have a plan for fighting back. Improvise weapons, if need be, chairs or fire extinguishers as examples. And should an armed attacker enter that space, fight with determination. The idea is to distract, disrupt and disarm.
He said the potential victims in a mass-shooting situation should become their own first responders. It takes law enforcement, on average, two to three minutes to arrive on a scene, but for every minute that goes by without the shooter being engaged, 2.5 people die.
McGinn acknowledged the idea of fighting back can be controversial, but fighting back is better than being a victim.
“People will die as long as the shooter can shoot…If the shooter isn’t stopped, we’re going to die. Should we fight back? Yes. Fight, or decide to be a victim,” he said.
McGinn also stressed the need for mindfulness.
“Your best defense is your brain…If your brain is not actively engaged, you’re relying on luck,” he said. “Be aware. Be mindful.”
That mindfulness could, at times, help prevent a problem. If a co-worker is acting strangely, out of his or her norm, expressing anger or frustration more than normal, say something. An intuitive co-worker may notice characteristics that could signal potentially violent behavior.
McGinn touched briefly on the mindset of the shooter, saying mass shooters tend to see themselves as victims in life, yet they become the victimizer when they take up a gun to shoot people. But that shooter becomes a victim again when the law arrives. When they commit suicide when confronted, it’s a way to avoid being the victim of police.
Although no questions surfaced specifically about gun-free zones, a question did come up regarding people legally licensed to carry a concealed weapon.
McGinn told the questioner to talk with the employer about whether an employee should be armed on the job.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
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