With all of the Gun issues going on, we need to also focus on what to do when you have an active shooter situation.

There is a good video done by The City of Houston called Run – Hide – Fight that goes through what YOU can do if this situation occurs. This was the first video done to show what we can do and should do. This video has been used to train all over the country in both public and private sectors. Individual areas have been  creating their own videos, based on their local places that bring it closer to the public. Here is that video:

Another video was done by our local TV Station KOLO 8. They got together with the Washoe County Sheriffs office and their SWAT team to put together a video on a local level. It was done at our new Regional Operations Training Center, next to the Emergency Operations Center. It is now used for our local training of CERT and other training for volunteers and employees both public and private. This closely follows the Houston Video to show what we can do to save our selves. Here is that Video:

Now being a CCW holder and I do carry everywhere I can, what am I to do in this case? Well that’s where some folks will say “I’d just shoot em”, and that might happen, you also might find yourself dead by the people coming to save you. During our training in this scenario, the sheriffs office made it plain that ALL law enforcement agencies that respond to these events, current training has them doing one job, and one job first….Shoot the Shooter DEAD. Stop the shooter, look for multiple shooters and then…rescue. So I want you to think, if you draw to protect yourself, you need to be aware that if Law Enforcement see’s you, they WILL shoot you….dead.

The basic tenant of CCW is to defend yourself if someone IS going to take your life, and I have no issue with killing the SOB! However, if you are not in immediate danger, you are OBLIGATED to leave the area, escape and save your life. So if someone starts shooting in another area and you can use the exit behind you, do it and do NOT engage. Now there is a decision to make and nobody including myself can make that decision as to whether to engage or not. I feel that I owe it to my family to get them out alive, if that means run, it means run. I will try and take others with us, but not at the delay of my exit. I can tell you that if kids are involved, that will be hard to impossible to do, at least for me. I would lay down my life to save them and save my soul at the same time. It just goes to your core beliefs and life experiences as to what you will do.

For me, if I cannot exit or hide, then think about how you don’t expose your weapon until you have to shoot. So if first responders enter that room or area first, they don’t see your barrel, but it’s ready in your own defense. Has your office or company talked about your active shooter plan? Do you have one? This is specialized planning and cannot follow a fire drill type procedure, it has to be a rotating response. For example, if you have at the first sign of an active shooter all report to an evacuation area, a former employee who wanted to take a bunch of folks out could put this in HIS plan. So this needs careful evaluation and planning.

The time to take action is now! With gun free zones you could find yourself in the target rich environments. This is the reason I do not believe in them at all. We need to look at this from the idea that we protect what is precious to us. Why do we leave our children in an area with little to no defense? If you are one of the few who cannot get out and you are allowed to carry by your employer, you have the means of defending yourself and others around you, but carefully.

Think, plan, change but for heavens sake….take action!