Do you know what to do in the event of a shooting? Security expert gives surprising advice

Do nothing. That is the central message of a webinar in which participants learn how to react in the event of a shooting.

The online training, organized by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Sacramento Police Department, begins Thursday and repeats next Monday at 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. It is free to the public.

“We have been participating in fire drills since we were children, even in our professional lives,” says Steve Smith, a webinar trainer and 16-year SWAT team member in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Bomb threats, suspicious packages, chemical spills or gas leaks, he said, all lead to the same familiar response – evacuation. Active shooters rely on a surprise ambush attack and then move around, looking for open doors and easy access to more victims. Setting off a fire alarm draws people into hallways and entryways.

“We can all agree that in most emergency situations we have faced, we have relied on others to tell us where to go and what to do,” Smith said of stationary threats. “What is completely different in a situation with an active killer is that the threat is moving. To deter an ambush, you have to respond as quickly as possible and without delay.”

Dodge, isolate and then strike back

The one-hour course aims to deprogram intuitive responses, such as hiding under a desk that is not bulletproof and offers only temporary protection. It includes techniques for evacuating a building more safely, ways to evade a threat, how best to isolate yourself, how to barricade yourself and where to go for safety. As a last-ditch defense, it describes how to incapacitate an attacker by hitting them in the head rather than focusing on the weapon.

There have been 389 mass shootings and 23 mass killings involving various weapons this year through Thursday, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit that tracks incidents of gun violence nationwide. Mass events are defined as four or more killings or injuries in one place and at one time. The number of such cases has risen from 289 in 2014 to 696 in 2023.

“Remember, this problem is moving, and if I get stuck behind this barrier, at some point the threat will move and open up an angle that puts me in a dangerous position.”

Steve Smith, Safety Trainer

The webinar showed examples from surveillance videos of people reacting to a sudden ambush. People ducked to the ground or behind chairs, leaving themselves unprotected. Missing a shooter's view can often be only temporary.

“Remember, this problem is moving, and if I get stuck behind that barrier, at some point the threat will move and open up an angle that puts me in a dangerous position,” Smith said.

Unlike what you see on TV, bullets penetrate most furniture, walls, and doors. Real cover consists of materials that a bullet cannot penetrate, such as concrete walls, steel filing cabinets, or the engine block of a car.

Even if there is a real fire alarm, Smith advises against running blindly into hallways and outdoor areas. Slow down at corners and look inside first. Smell for gun smoke and listen for noises and movements in the building.

As a precaution, he recommends taking an “internal field trip” to the places we work and visit. Know which way the doors open and what to do if a barricade is necessary. Know which windows open or have shatter-proof glass. Make sure the doors can be locked from the inside, and in the event of a shooting, don't try to isolate yourself in a glass-enclosed office space.

Security systems do not prevent attacks

The market for school security technologies is estimated to be worth $800 million in 2024, according to market research firm Mordor Intelligence, and is expected to reach $1.42 billion by 2029. In 2022, Congress passed a law allocating an additional $300 million to strengthen school security.

But there is little hard evidence that gun detection scanners and wireless panic buttons have prevented or mitigated catastrophic school events such as mass shootings, according to a 2016 report on school safety technology by researchers at Johns Hopkins University.

“All security measures are purely deterrents, but there are numerous places that have been attacked despite having security measures in place,” Smith said, noting that many of the attacks come from people already in the system, such as former employees or students.

Attackers penetrate an area and explore it to find vulnerabilities.

“A lot of the deterrence is done by people, not security, people who have been trained and are aware of the situation,” Smith said. “People who challenge others and say, 'Excuse me, ma'am. Where can I send you? You are not allowed to be in this restricted area.' Often times, they are the ones who stop things from happening.”

Those interested in Monday's webinars must register in advance for either the 9 a.m. training or the 5 p.m. event. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has also released a brochure describing how to respond to an active shooter.