Active Shooter Information
Lincoln University Active Shooter Standard Operating Guide (SOG) For Residential Halls / Dormitories
- An Active Shooter is an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area; in most cases, active shooters use firearms(s) and there is no pattern or method to their selection of victims.
- Active shooter situations are unpredictable and evolve quickly.
- Typically, the immediate deployment of law enforcement is required to stop the shooting and mitigate harm to victims.
- Because active shooter situations are often over within 10 to 15 minutes, before law enforcement arrives on the scene, individuals must be prepared both mentally and physically to deal with an active shooter situation.
- Be aware of your environment and any possible dangers
- Take note of the two nearest exits in any facility you visit
- If you are in an classroom, stay there and secure the door
- If you are in a hallway, get into a room and secure the door
- As a last resort, attempt to take the active shooter down.
- When the shooter is at close range and you cannot flee, your chance of survival is much greater if you try to incapacitate him/her.
Call 911 When It Is Safe To Do So
How To Respond When An Active Shooter Is In Your Vicinity
Quickly determine the most reasonable way to protect your own life. Remember that students are likely to follow the lead of other students and RAs during an active shooter situation.
- Have an escape route and plan in mind
- Evacuate regardless of whether others agree to follow
- Leave your belongings behind
- Help others escape, if possible
- Prevent individuals from entering an area where the active shooter may be
- Keep your hands visible
- Follow the instructions of any police officers
- Do not attempt to move wounded people
- Call 911 when you are safe
- Be out of the active shooter’s view
- Provide protection if shots are fired in your direction (i.e., a room with a closed and locked door)
- Not trap you or restrict your options for movement
To prevent an active shooter from entering your hiding place:
- Lock the door
- Blockade the door with heavy furniture If the active shooter is nearby:
- Lock the door
- Silence your cell phone and/or pager
- Turn off any source of noise (i.e., radios, televisions)
- Hide behind large items (i.e., cabinets, desks)
Remain quiet If evacuation and hiding out are not possible:
- Remain calm
Dial 911, if possible, to alert police to the active shooter’s location
If you cannot speak, leave the line open and allow the dispatcher to listen
As a last resort, and only when your life is in imminent danger, attempt to disrupt and/or incapacitate the active shooter by:
- Acting as aggressively as possible against him/her]
- Throwing items and improvising weapons
- Yelling
- Committing to your actions
How to Respond When Law Enforcement Arrives
- Law enforcement’s purpose is to stop the active shooter as soon as possible.
- Officers will proceed directly to the area in which the last shots were heard.
- Officers may wear regular patrol uniforms or external bulletproof vests, Kevlar helmets, and other tactical equipment
- Officers may be armed with rifles, shotguns, handguns
- Officers may use pepper spray or tear gas to control the situation
- Officers may shout commands, and may push individuals to the ground for their safety
- Remain calm, and follow officers’ instructions
- Put down any items in your hands (i.e., bags, jackets)
- Immediately raise hands and spread fingers
- Keep hands visible at all times
- Avoid making quick movements toward officers such as holding on to them for safety
- Avoid pointing, screaming and/or yelling
- Do not stop to ask officers for help or direction when evacuating, just proceed in the direction from which officers are entering the premises
- Location of the active shooter
- Number of shooters, if more than one
- Physical description of shooter/s
- Number and type of weapons held by the shooter/s
- Number of potential victims at the location
The first officers to arrive to the scene will not stop to help injured persons. Expect rescue teams comprised of additional officers and emergency medical personnel to follow the initial officers. These rescue teams will treat and remove any injured persons. They may also call upon able-bodied individuals to assist in removing the wounded from the premises. Once you have reached a safe location or an assembly point, you will likely be held in that area by law enforcement until the situation is under control, and all witnesses have been identified and questioned.
Do Not Leave Law Enforcement Authorities Have Instructed You To Do So.
Training Your Staff and Students for An Active Shooter Situation
To best prepare your staff and students for an active shooter situation is to conduct training exercises.
- Recognizing the sound of gunshots
- Reacting quickly when gunshots are heard and/or when a shooting is witnessed:
- Evacuating the area
- Hiding out
- Acting against the shooter as a last resort
- Calling 911
- Reacting when law enforcement arrives
- Adopting the survival mind set during times of crisis
- Preparedness - Ensure that your facility has at least two evacuation routes
- Post evacuation routes in conspicuous locations throughout your facility
- Prevention - Foster a respectful campus
- Be aware of indications of violence and take remedial actions accordingly
Reactions Of RA's During An Active Shooter Are Important. Students Are Likely To Follow Their Lead During An Emergency.
- Take immediate action
- Remain calm
- Lock and barricade doors
- Evacuate students and staff via a preplanned evacuation route to a safe area
Recognizing Potential Violence
An active shooter in your residence hall may be a current or former student or an acquaintance of a current or former student. Intuitive RAs may notice characteristics of potentially violent behavior in a student. Alert LUPD if you believe a student or coworker exhibits potentially violent behavior.
Students typically do not just “snap,” but display indicators of potentially violent behavior over time. If these behaviors are recognized, they can often be managed and treated.
Potentially violent behaviors by a student may include one or more of the following (this list of behaviors is not comprehensive, nor is it intended as a mechanism for diagnosing violent tendencies):
- Increased use of alcohol and/or illegal drugs
- Unexplained increase in absenteeism; vague physical complaints
- Noticeable decrease in attention to appearance and hygiene
- Depression / withdrawal
- Resistance and overreaction to changes in policy and procedures
- Repeated violations of university policies
- Increased severe mood swings
- Noticeably unstable, emotional responses
- Explosive outbursts of anger or rage without provocation
- Suicidal; comments about “putting things in order” behavior, which is suspect of paranoia, (“everybody is against me”)
- Increasingly talks of problems at home
- Escalation of domestic problems into the classroom or dorm; talk of severe financial problems
- Talk of previous incidents of violence
- Empathy with individuals committing violence
- Increase in unsolicited comments about firearms, other dangerous weapons, and violent crimes
Managing The Consequences Of An Active Shooter Situation
- An accounting of all individuals at a designated assembly point to determine who, if anyone, is missing and potentially injured
- Determining a method for notifying families of individuals affected by the active shooter, including notification of any casualties
- Assessing the psychological state of individuals at the scene, and referring them to health care specialists accordingly
- Identifying and filling any critical personnel or operational gaps left in the organization because of the active shooter
- Serving as documentation for response activities
- Identifying successes and failures that occurred during the event
- Providing an analysis of the effectiveness of the existing EAP
- Describing and defining a plan for making improvements to the EAP