By Scott Dennis
Westchester law enforcement has been offering a free two-hour training course on civilian reaction to active shooter events. The national average for police response time to an emergency is 3 minutes, and this training outlines what steps a normal person can take during those 3 minutes to survive an active shooter situation.
The presenters reminded the crowd of local residents that the 1999 Columbine school massacre in Colorado drove law enforcement to re-evaluate their tactics. They realized that their old strategy of containing the area and awaiting special response teams was fatally flawed because lives were being lost as precious moments ticked away.
Since the year 2000, there has been an astonishing 280 attacks with the intent toward mass murder in the U.S. using firearms, knives and vehicles. This essential training went in depth into what professionals have learned since Columbine about how people react during a crisis situation. Participants said it was fascinating to learn about the physical effects of elevated stress or “disaster response psychology,” as law enforcement put it. Your heart rate rises and your body begins to lose fine motor skills, along with the ability to think clearly.
Acknowledging these factors, the course lays out three steps to take when dealing with an attacker: avoid, deny and defend.
Many case studies of recent attacks were discussed, including the April 2007 shooting at Virginia Tech where researchers discovered that student survival rate was determined by the decisive actions taken by professors. One heroic Virginia Tech engineering professor Liviu Librescu was a Holocaust survivor and did not hesitate to tell his students to jump out of the window as he barricaded the door; despite being gunned down himself, he saved dozens of students with his ability to act quickly.
Clearly, Librescu had experience with survival, but the trainers argued that anyone can be taught to keep their wits through mental preparation.
A few of the key takeaways to survival were:
Combat breathing – when your heart rate increases rapidly you can experience erratic breathing, which can lead to your body shutting down. Breathing in and holding your breath for a few seconds and repeating the exercise a few times can help you control your breath and your anxiety. This allows you some improved mental clarity to make informed decisions.
Mental scripting – this suggests that you make it a habit to ask “what if” in environments that you are familiar with and especially in new places, like a hotel. Imagine a fire alarm and walking into a dark smoke-filled hallway in a hotel you are not familiar with. With a mental scripting attitude you would have already counted the number of doors to the nearest exits and made a plan of escape.
Situational awareness – some would argue that rampant cell phone use has made us oblivious to our surroundings, therefore the Westchester trainers suggest we all ask ourselves what details we are missing because of a lack of focus. Our regular surroundings need to be viewed in a more vigilant light, by asking ourselves the key “what if?” How would we handle an active killer or other disaster in that environment? For instance, if you are a in a school could you use a simple wooden door jam or electrical cords to create a makeshift door blockade? Where are the exits at any event you attend? Where would I find cover or shelter if needed?
Unfortunately, experts have not come up with a single profile for the kind of person that might commit these heinous acts. We as citizens need to empower ourselves through this type of training and learn to harden our schools and workplaces by simply being more aware of what could happen, and how best to react.
The Civilian Response to Active Shooter event is provided by Westchester law enforcement and takes place periodically at the Westchester County Center, 198 Central Ave, White Plains.
