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National Protection and Programs Directorate

Department of Homeland Security

The Office of Infrastructure Protection

National Retail Federation Loss Prevention Conference

13 June 2013

Active Shooter: Preparedness and Response for the private sector

Agenda

� Profile of an Active Shooter

� Preparing for an Active Shooter Incident

� Active Shooter “How to Respond” Program Overview

– “Active Shooter – How to Respond” materials

– Online Training

– Workshops

– Webinar

– “Options for Consideration” training video

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Overview

� Although active shooter situations are typically associated with schools, the

threat of an active shooter exists in any facility type.

� Examples include:

– August 5, 2012 – Oak Creek, WI – 7 people killed in a Sikh temple (including

gunman)

– July 20, 2012 – Aurora, CO – 12 killed, 58 injured in a movie theater;

– January 8, 2011 – Tucson, AZ – 6 killed, 13 injured (including U.S.

Representative Gabrielle Giffords) in a supermarket parking lot;

– November 5, 2007 – Ft. Hood, TX – 13 dead, 29 injured at a military base;

– April 16, 2007 – Blacksburg, VA – 32 dead, 17 wounded at Virginia Tech;

– October 2, 2006 – Nickel Mines, PA – 6 killed (including gunman), 5 wounded

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Profile of an Active Shooter

� An active shooter is an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting

to kill people in a confined and populated area. In most cases, there is no pattern or method to their selection of victims.

� Most active shooter situations are unpredictable and evolve quickly.

Because most incidents are over within minutes, we must be prepared to

deal with the situation until law enforcement personnel arrive.

� Preparedness and awareness are the keys to helping protect our employees, our customers, and ourselves.

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Characteristics of an Active Shooter

� Rarely impulsive events

� Attack is thought out and planned in advance, but targets are often randomly selected

� Almost every attacker had engaged in behavior prior to shooting that

seriously concerned others

� In school settings, other students often knew the shooting was to occur but

did not alert an adult

� Very often in school or the workplace, clear warning signs are evident, such as the showing or talking about weapon(s) ownership

� In many cases, warning signs are ignored, downplayed, or misjudged in

severity.

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Training and creating an emergency plan

� Create the EAP with input from

several stakeholders including:

� Human resources department,

� Training department

� Facility owners / operators,

� Property manager, and

� Local law enforcement and/

� or emergency responders

To best prepare your staff for an

active shooter situation, create an Emergency Action Plan (EAP),

and conduct training exercises.

Together, the EAP and training

exercises will prepare your staff to

effectively respond and help minimize loss of life.

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Prepare

� Incident Pre-Planning Guidance

� Facility readiness requires that managers develop and exercise response plans that apply general preparedness and response protocols to specific

types of emergencies and facility capabilities (including security

resources). Practicing the plan was a key finding of experts and facility managers who participated in active shooter exercises.

� Some items to consider during plan development– Establish alternative methods of communication with employees during an

incident—including emergency notification system, e-mail, phone, cell phone,

text message, and loudspeaker announcements.– Determine how to estimate the impact of an incident on facility operations and

communicate that to customers, the public, and law enforcement.– Communicate with emergency responders to manage facility expectations of

response capabilities.

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Prepare

� Employee Training and Awareness– Train all employees on general emergency plans and those designed for specific

scenarios.

– Train security personnel in providing guidance to employees in each scenario.

� Exercise Emergency Action Plans Regularly and Repeatedly– Schedule regular drills, tabletop and functional exercises.– Assess gaps in plans, exercises and training.

� Establish a Relationship with Emergency Responders– Involve emergency services responders from multiple agencies in facility training

and exercises.– Jointly map out incident management procedures and pre-identify a common,

secure radio communication channel.– Invite all emergency responders to tour your site and provide details about the

facility that will help responders to tailor their protocols.

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Prepare

� Assisting Emergency Responders

� Is security technology, such as closed circuit television, in place to assist law enforcement in locating the victims and shooter(s)?– What procedures are in place to provide site and building maps?– What procedures are available to provide facility access to emergency

responders?– Are critical phone calls getting through to security personnel?

– Are extra radios available for emergency responders?– Where are incoming emergency response personnel staged?

– Are there any safety concerns as emergency responders enter process areas?

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HR Department & Landlord Responsibility

� Human resources department

– Conduct effective employee screening and background checks

– Create a system for reporting signs of potentially violent behavior

� Facility managers

– Institute access controls (i.e., keys, security system pass codes)

– Coordinate with the facility’s security department to ensure the physical security of the location

– Activate the emergency notification system when an emergency situation occurs

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Potential Indicators

� Thoughts

– Talk of previous violent incidents

– Unsolicited focus on dangerous weapons

– Expressions of paranoia or depression

– Overreaction to workplace changes

� Feelings

– Depression or withdrawal

– Unstable, emotional responses

– Feeling either arrogant and supreme or powerless

– Intense anger or hostility

� Behaviors

– Increased use of alcohol or drugs

– Violations of company policies

– Increased absenteeism

– Exploiting or blaming others

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If others recognize and report these

behaviors, the employee may be

assisted, supported, and treated. It is

important for employers to establish

communication procedures for

reporting these concerns. Depending

on company policy, employees should

alert the Human Resources

Department or Safety/Security

Department.

Prepare

� Incident Recovery Planning Considerations

� Addressing Victims and Families– Has the facility established a family hotline?

– What is the process to assist with victim identification?– Who is responsible for gathering information related to victim identities, extent

of injuries, and what hospitals are being utilized?– What is the procedure to notify the family members? Who performs the

notifications and are they trained for this responsibility?– Will facility personnel procure counselors for employees and families?

– How will concerns about returning to work be handled?

� Communicating Internally– What instructions will management give to the employees and how will it be

communicated? Should they return to their homes, remain onsite at a specified

location, go to another site, etc.?– How will facility personnel communicate with families?

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Prepare

� Incident Recovery Planning Considerations

� Communicating Externally– Who is the designated official for responding to media inquiries? – What information and details will facility personnel provide to the media that will

ease community concerns without inciting panic or hindering the investigation?

� Continuing Business Operations– What are the business recovery/continuity plans?– Who will make re-entry decisions?

– Who will provide safety and security debriefings?– When and how will managers fill the positions of deceased and injured

employees?– What actions are needed to ensure employees feel safe?

– How will the facility continue operating with limited production or with certain areas of the facility designated a crime scene?

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Respond

� In an active shooter situation, you should quickly determine the most reasonable way to protect your own life. You should:

1. Evacuate: If there is an accessible escape path, attempt to evacuate the premises.

2. Hide out: If evacuation is not possible, find a place to hide where the active shooter is less likely to find you.

3. Take action: As a last resort, and only when your life is in imminent danger, attempt to disrupt and/or incapacitate the active shooter.

� It is important for employees to be trained so that they can react if they are ever confronted with an active shooter situation. As these situations evolve quickly, quick decisions could mean the difference between life and death. If you are in harm’s way, you will need to decide rapidly what the safest course of action is based on the scenario that is unfolding before you.

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Active Shooter – How To RespondTraining & Outreach Materials

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To download these materials

visit

www.dhs.gov/activeshooter

� Materials consist of 3 products

– Basic Guide Book

– Break Room Poster

– Pocket Emergency Measures Guide

Online Training

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� The Department of Homeland Security

(DHS) has released Active Shooter, What You Can Do (IS-907), a new online training

course available through the Federal

Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Emergency Management Institute (EMI)

� The course is self-paced and takes about

45 minutes to complete. Upon completion, participants can take a short online "final

exam" that is instantly scored. A certificate

is given to participants who finish the entire course and pass the final exam.

For more information visit

www.dhs.gov/activeshooter

Workshops

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� The U.S. Department of Homeland

Security (DHS) is partnering with Police Departments to conduct

Workshops aimed at fostering

communication between facilities and their local emergency response

teams in response to an active

shooter event.

� This one-day facilitated seminar will

focus on emergency responder and

facility coordination, interoperability capabilities, communications

protocols, best practices, and

integration of local assets.

� For more information, e-mail

cfsteam@hq.dhs.gov.

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Active Shooter – How to Respond

Options for Consideration Video

To download this video visit

www.dhs.gov/activeshooter

� The 4 minute Options for

Consideration Video demonstrates possible actions to take if confronted

with a active shooter scenario.

� The instructive video reviews the choices of evacuating, hiding, or, as

an option of last resort, challenging

the shooter.

� The video also shows how to assist

authorities once law enforcement

enters the scene.

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For more information, visit:

www.dhs.gov/activeshooter

Pete Owen, CPP

Protective Security Advisor, San DiegoU.S. Department of Homeland Security

Office of Infrastructure Protection

Peter.owen@dhs.gov