Student Safety in Active Shooter Situation- Part 1, by P.N.

As an educator that has worked in quite a few small and large schools, there are a number of safety drills I have been required to take part in. The list includes fire drills, shelter-in-place drills, bomb threat drills as well as lockdowns (active shooter) and evacuation drills. One drill that I find lacking in every school I’ve entered is the active shooter drill. Security in schools are more than willing to admit that “it’s not if, but when” for the next school shooting.

Current Active Shoot Drills

Most schools practice active shooter drills by “calling” the drill while students are already in class. When the drills are called, the teacher shuts the door (that typically is already locked from the outside) and the students sit in the corner away from the door. All are required to be quiet until someone comes and checks the door. Once all doors are checked, someone from administration comes over the loudspeaker and “clears” the drill. If a school is responsible, they will require a two-person verification at this point, meaning two people must come over to “clear” the drill from two different locations in case one of them is being held hostage.

In this procedure, I find several flaws, which are outlined below:

1. Having the drill take place while students are already in the classroom is ineffective. An active shooter will not necessarily start shooting while students are in their classrooms.
2. Many administrators will come over the announcement and calmly “call” the drill. Rather then just yelling “Lockdown, Lockdown, Lockdown”, they discuss what is happening. Where is the urgency?
3. When in the classroom, no one is taught to block the doorways/entryways. By blocking these it would help impede the passage of a shooter.
4. When it comes to the two-person verification, who’s to say that the two administrators aren’t both in the Main Office at the same time? Frequently, administrators have offices that are adjacent to one another or are in meetings together.

Ways to Fix Procedure

There are many ways that I would fix this procedure that are fairly obvious. As an educator, but more importantly a parent, there are ways that I would teach my child to handle an active shooter that would far surpass the quality of the school’s actions. As a parent, teaching your child to be self-reliant is crucial to their survival in any type of active shooter scenario.

Look For What’s Out of the Ordinary

I encourage all parents to start training their children to look for something out of the ordinary from the time they leave the house. In this article I will discuss the following key areas and times of day:

1. The bus stop in the morning.
2. The bus ride to school.
3. Getting off of the bus at school/walking into the building.
4. Walking through the halls during the day.
5. Sitting in the classroom.
6. The cafeteria or assemblies (which occur frequently throughout a school year).
7. Walking out to the bus at the end of the day.

The Bus Stop

Your child (and you as a parent, if you stand at the bus stop) should be aware of other students that may be present. Obviously, if you have a stop with just one child, this is a moot point. However, like many stops, there will be a group of students. Before your child even gets on the bus, teach them to look and listen for signs of a potential shooter.

Key Questions to Ask Yourself At the Bus Stop

The follow are questions to ask yourself at the bus stop and in various situations:

1. Is there someone wearing a jacket or coat, especially something that is long when it is warm out? Why would they be wearing this when it is not necessary? Could they be hiding a weapon?
2. Look at backpacks and duffel bags. Is there a student who never carries a duffel bag but now has a long one that looks like there’s a “stick” inside (meaning a rifle or shotgun)? Are they carrying their backpack in a strange manner, possibly with their hand constantly inside even though they are not actively looking for anything in the bag?
3. Is there a student who is shifting continuously, acting uncomfortable when usually they are calm?

More to Look For and Do at the Bus Stop

Teaching yourself and your child how to look for the above signs can help prevent something from happening before the day even begins. If the child is alone at the stop, tell them that it is okay if they walk back home “pretending that they forgot something,” so as not to raise suspicion. Ensure that they contact you immediately so that you, as a parent, can contact the school to let them know that something doesn’t seem “right”. It is much better to be preventative and over reactive than allow your child to go to school in a potentially dangerous situation.

Bus Ride

While on the bus to school, your child can continually ask themselves the above questions. Remember, they will be getting on a bus that currently has students, or that will very shortly. As your child steps on the bus, teach them how to scan the students already present. While walking to their seat (assigned or not) look at each student on the bus and see if there is anything suspicious. Again, the student should be asking themselves the key questions:

1. Is there someone wearing a jacket or coat, especially something that is long when it is warm out? Why would they be wearing this when it is not necessary? Could they be hiding a weapon?
2. Look at backpacks and duffel bags. Is there a student who never carries a duffel bag but now has a long one that looks like there’s a “stick” inside (meaning a rifle or shotgun)? Are they carrying their backpack in a strange manner, possibly with their hand constantly inside even though they are not actively looking for anything in the bag?
3. Is there a student who is shifting continuously, acting uncomfortable when usually they are calm?

At each subsequent stop, complete the same tasks. It takes less than five seconds for someone to realize that something just “isn’t quite right”. In the beginning of the year it may be more difficult for a student to notice the quirks of each rider, but as each month progresses it becomes easier and easier to identify anything out of the ordinary.

Arriving at School

As students begin to exit the buses and enter the building in the morning, there is a mass of bodies that provide an easy target. Those that are familiar with military terms will understand that the doorways entering the building become “fatal funnels”. My school, for example, has over 1600 students with the vast majority entering just five doorways. The bottle necks/choke points created are tremendous, and for anyone with ill intent, they would provide an easy opportunity for maximum damage.

As your child exits the bus and begins to enter the building, teach them to recognize the points of the building that may be bottle necks/choke points.

Key Questions to Ask Yourself Upon Arriving At School

The questions to ask are:

1. Is the door I am entering the best option? Is there one with less congestion?
2. When walking toward the door, is there a way for me to deviate from my route in the case of a shooter? Can I easily get away from the entrance, maybe cutting across the grass or beds that may be adjacent to the walkway?
3. If I’m just entering the building, where can I go to get away from the location the easiest? Is there a stairwell close? Is the cafeteria or gym close, so that I can try and exit into another room or even go back outside?

More on Arriving at School and Entering Doorways

Each doorway will have its own set of positives and negatives. Teaching your child to pick the best option may be crucial to their success and survival in an active shooter situation.

Tomorrow we will continue going through the locations, ask questions to help you consider options, and offer suggestions to increase safety at school in the event of an active shooter situation.

See Also:

• Student Safety in Active Shooter Situation- Part 2, by P.N. (Active on 1/5/18)

SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

This has been part one of a two part entry for Round 74 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $11,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

1. A $3000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from Veteran owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,095 value),
3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
7. Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value), and
8. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

1. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
2. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
3. A gift certificate for any two or three-day class from Max Velocity Tactical (a $600 value),
4. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
5. A Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
6. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
7. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site.

Third Prize:

1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
2. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
3. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
5. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances, and
6. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).

Round 74 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.