What is the biggest active shooter response misconception?

active shooter response misconception by alain burreseWhat active shooter response misconception is the biggest? There are many, and while I’m not sure if this is the biggest, it is very prevalent in some circles and I’m going to look at it today.

Active Shooter Response Misconception: The ONLY way to stop a bad guy with a gun is by a good guy with a gun.

This is often said by the pro-gun crowd, but it is not accurate. While I will agree that if you have to face an active shooter, it would be better if you were armed with a firearm too, but that is not realistic for all circumstances. Because of laws and different personality types, people are going to face active killers unarmed. However, unarmed people HAVE stopped these sick individuals. There are many instances where ordinary unarmed people have stopped active shooter and terrorist threats.

It’s ridiculous to say if you are not armed with a firearm you must resort to being a helpless victim. It’s not true! You don’t have to be a victim. That’s what the Survive a Shooting book and course are all about. I’ve taught many teachers, medical providers, government office workers and others who are prohibited from carrying a firearm at work. I don’t care if you agree or disagree with these laws. The fact is, they exist and I teach people strategies that work within the parameters they must work with.

I refuse to believe this active shooter response misconception and say unarmed people must be victims. Not when so many unarmed people have successfully stopped these killers. I’m not saying it is easy. Nor am I saying it is ideal. I am saying it is possible. And with the things I teach, it raises the chances people can successfully survive these horrific events.

It is important that people learn to harden targets and look for potential indicators to prevent the event from happening in the first place. That is always best. But if bullets are flying, there are things people can do to increase their chances of survival, and to save lives. People must know how to escape, deny, attack back, and stop the bleeding. Knowledge and training can prepare people so they don’t have to live in fear, but rather can enjoy life safely with a plan if the worst case scenario does happen.

 

Clint Eastwood made a movie about a terrorist active shooter that was stopped by unarmed passengers. Here is an article titled The True Story Behind the Movie The 15:17 to Paris

Throwing Stones at Active Shooters

Here is a video rant I made after seeing so many people on social media bad mouth a school for wanting to put stones in classrooms to throw at active threats if they entered.

 

Different articles on the school:

Pennsylvania school wants to arm students with rocks to protect them against active shooters

Superintendent Says Students Are Armed with Rocks In Case of a School Shooting

This school district is arming students with rocks in case of a shooter

Active Shooter Lessons from “The 15:17 To Paris”

I went to the new Clint Eastwood produced and directed movie The 15:17 to Paris, and wanted to point out a couple of lessons we can all learn from the movie. Eastwood took a risk by having the three childhood friends turned heroes play themselves in the film. But it’s a risk I’m glad he took. Those heroes-turned-actors are Spencer Stone, a former U.S. Air Force Airman, Alek Skarlatos, a former Oregon National Guardsman, and Anthony Sadler, a senior at California State University at the time of the incident. On August 21, 2015, the trio was riding on a Thalys train headed towards the French capital when a man armed with an assault rifle and pistol opened fire, shooting one passenger. Stone and Skarlatos instinctively decided to charge at the assailant, and Sadler was not far behind. Despite several injuries, including a slashed neck and thumb for Stone, the three friends managed to overpower the gunman with the assistance of a British passenger. The four were hailed as international heroes and received various honors for their valor. The movie was adapted from the three men’s co-authored memoir of the same name.

It is obvious that Stone, Skarlatos, and Sadler are not actors. It is a risk Eastwood took and the film is taking some criticism for it. Personally, I didn’t mind that the acting and dialogue wasn’t as smooth as it would have been with A-list actors playing the three. I thought it was pretty cool that they were the actual heroes playing themselves, and I enjoyed the movie and am glad I went to see it. There are two lessons related to my work in teaching Active Shooter Response that I want to share.

There is a scene in the film when Stone is in a class at a military base when an Active Shooter alert is sounded. The instructor in the class tells people to lock the door and then get under the desks. I wanted to scream in the theater. NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!!! Hiding under desks is not a strategy to survive. Little spoiler here. Stone gets up and prepares himself at the door with a pen held in a hammer fist. If the shooter came through the door, he was going to take him out with the pen. YES, YES, YES, YES!!! I still wanted to scream at the instructor and everyone hiding under desks, but having Stone do the right thing eased my blood pressure. (Even though the instructor in the movie criticized him for it.) You lock doors and barricade to keep the shooter out, but you then prepare to ambush him at the door with whatever you have in case the locks and barricade fail. This is what I and others teach, and I was glad that at least one person in that class room figured it out on their own. It is the best strategy in a bad situation. When the instructor who told everyone to get under the desks asked Stone why he did what he did, Airman Stone replied, “I don’t know, ma’am. I just didn’t want my family finding out that I died hiding under a table.”

The other lesson from this movie is that people, even unarmed people, can and have stopped killers. I get tired of so many people saying the only way to stop a killer with a gun is with a gun yourself. These four men, the three Americans and one British passenger, prove that quote wrong. And there have been many others in similar incidents.

As I said earlier in this book, yes, if I had to face an active shooter, I would prefer to have a firearm myself. But I refuse to say that people without a firearm must resign to being victims. I sure won’t, and I don’t want anyone I teach to be a victim either. I teach people to be survivors. If all they have is a ball point pen like Stone in the movie, use it. If there is a fire extinguisher handy, use it. If you are naked with absolutely nothing, use your hands, feet, elbows, knees, teeth, and anything else to attack back and stop the attacker.

I like that this movie shows regular people deciding to act, and their actions saved many lives. Not only did they stop the killer, they kept the wounded man alive until professional medical personnel could take over. That’s a reason stopping bleeding is part of my book and courses. People can and do save lives. This movie was a great example of what people can do, and I applaud the men who acted on that train, and I applaud Clint Eastwood for bringing the story to us in this film.

Survive a Shooting Webinar Invitation

I was asked to do a webinar on active shooter response by AudioSolutionz, and this is the invitation they provided me to send out to my friends to receive a $20 discount.

Webinar Invitation
Survive a Shooting: What You Can Do to Survive an Active Shooter Event
Tue, Oct 24, 2017 at 1:00 PM ET | Duration: 60 mins | Presented by: Alain Burrese

Credits: Approved for [1.0 PDC by SHRM] and [1.0 credits by HRCI]

The frequency of active shooter incidents have increased in recent years along with the numbers injured and killed. Columbine, the Aurora movie theater, Sandy Hook, and the Orlando nightclub are just a few examples of this terrifying trend. When these unthinkable acts occur, every second counts, and unfortunately it takes police minutes to respond. Workplaces, schools, and even citizens out at theaters and malls should have a plan of what they can do to stay alive during these critical minutes before law enforcement arrives. These are the few minutes that can often mean the difference between lives being saved and lives being lost.

This session by expert speaker, Alain Burrese, will provide critical insights, knowledge, life-saving skills and strategies for dealing with active shooter threats. You will be able to develop a plan to keep yourself and others alive when a killer is looking for a high body count. This includes learning to recognize threats, what to do in the middle of a mass shooting to increase survivability, and how to save people who have been shot or stabbed by an active threat. The information presented in this session will increase your safety while at the workplace and while out and about in your personal time. The information can be adapted to business workplaces, government buildings, schools, hospitals, and medical facilities. This critical information will help prepare you and your employees in the event of a mass shooting scenario in a public space.

Session Highlights

  • The history and nature of active shooter threats
  • What you can do before an active shooter incident
  • What you can do during an incident to survive
    • Escape
    • Deny
    • Attack back
  • What you should do when law enforcement arrives
  • Why stopping the bleeding is critical and how to do it

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER. Use “ALAINB20” to get $20 off.

Attend in a group and sáve upto 50%. Call 800-223-8720 for any info.
Thanks, AudioSolutionz 800-223-8720