In my opinion, to make schools safer we need to have general emergency training drills in place. Our kids should have emergency training every two or three months in school and I think it should be all-inclusive. I don’t think we should have active shooter drills conducted separately. It should be included in the training for all other emergency situations; fire, earthquake, first aid training, etc. I think the students would be less freaked out if they were done in combination.
An active shooter education and training all schools should adopt the three basic principles of what to do during the situation as recommended by The Department of Homeland Security’s Be Informed Active Shooter:
RUN and escape, if possible
- Getting away from the shooter is the top priority
- Leave your belongings behind and get away
- Help others escape, if possible, but evacuate regardless of whether others agree to follow
- Warn and prevent individuals from entering an area where the active shooter may be
- Call 911 when you are safe, and describe shooter, location, and weapons
HIDE, if escape is not possible
- Get out of the shooter’s view and stay very quiet
- Silence all electronic devices and make sure they won’t vibrate
- Lock and block doors, close blinds, and turn off lights
- Don’t hide in groups-spread out along walls or hide separately to make it more difficult for the shooter
- Try to communicate with the police silently – Use text message or social media to tag your location, or put a sign in a window
- Stay in place until law enforcement gives you the all clear
- Your hiding place should be out of the shooter’s view and provide protection if shots are fired in your direction
FIGHT as an absolute last resort
- Commit to your actions and act as aggressively as possible against the shooter
- Recruit others to ambush the shooter with makeshift weapons like chairs, fire extinguishers, scissors, books, etc.
- Be prepared to cause severe or lethal injury to the shooter
- Throw items and improvise weapons to distract and disarm the shooter
To learn and prepare you and your family on how to prepare yourselves for an active shooter situation check out https://www.ready.gov/active-shooter.
I believe we need to empower the teachers, but only those who want to be able to carry or have quick access to a gun. Read the article “Let’s Protect Our Kids”. The teachers are the ones who are going to put their lives on the line to save our children. Every day we trust their lives with them. Let’s empower them. Obviously, they would be required to have extensive training, and be certified.
I don’t think hiring additional security (provided by the unions just to create more jobs) is the answer. Just look at the onsite security and/or police who have failed to respond appropriately in the past. And the reality is that an active shooter situation is unpredictable and evolves very fast. The police only arrive after the situation has begun and in most times is over. It really is up to the innocent victims and bystanders to take control of the situation as quickly as possible to try and make sure the least amount of damage is done. This is the reality that we have to face.
I know it’s hard for most of us to believe or to understand, but it’s true. If someone was to invade my home and try to shoot my family, I am going to rush him. It’s going to rattle him and give me a better chance of saving my family and myself.
Should we change our gun laws? Read the article “Bump The Bump Stocks”. I think they could be better with some modifications. Our background checks system needs to be cleaned up. Gun safety training should be required before anyone is allowed to purchase his or her first gun. Systems need to be in place to ensure that a mentally unstable person is not able to buy a gun and a court system in place to allow them to get off the list if justified. These things should be in place.
But if we are to change our gun laws then we need to also look at society and what role it plays in promoting gun violence. Hollywood produces movies that glorify guns and killing. So do the game manufacturers. If we want to change the legal age for owning a gun to be twenty-one….?
What we do know is that our kids need to be educated and prepared to defend and protect their selves in the case of an active shooter.
Is changing our gun laws the answer? Is changing our First or Second Amendment rights the answer? Or is learning to identify and understand what causes a person to resort to gun violence the answer?
What are your thoughts?
